03 - English Men of Science- Their Nature and Nurture by Sir Francis Galton

Dive into the findings of Galtons intriguing survey that sought to uncover the distinctions and similarities among the eminent men of his era. This podcast features a wealth of biographical details, biometric data, and thought-provoking quotations from these distinguished individuals. Summarized by Niobium.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter one, Part two of English Men of Science by
Francis Galton. This is a LibriVox recording or LibriVox recordings
in the public domain. For more information not a volunteer,
please visit LibriVox dot org. Read by Leon Harvey, Chapter one,
Part two, Pedigrees. Thirteen families have been selected, out of

(00:22):
those to which about one hundred and twenty of the
scientific men on my list belong as appearing noteworthy for
their richness, inability doing two, three or more generations, or
for any other peculiarity. In some cases they are also
remarkable for purity of type. In some cases they are
also remarkable for purity of type. The fact may, for

(00:44):
the most part be verified by reference to the publications
of which the titles are given, and the whole could
have been obtained by any one who cared to search
other more or less public sources of information. Five of
these families, Bentham, Darwin, Dawson, Turner, Roscoe, and Taylor of Ongar,
have already been alluded to in my previous work Hereditary Genius.

(01:08):
Whence I have extracted what appeared to the point adding
what was necessary in estimating the number of individuals in
each generation the practice has been usually adopted of not
counting those who died young or have not yet attained
their thirtieth year oldison. Many members of this family have
been intellectually gifted. There have been an unusual number of

(01:31):
cases of mathematical achievement, among them first generation, five males
and two females, children of Reverend j Alderson and his wife.
The latter lived to ninety four. Of these three males
deserve notice. One James Oldison, m d. Of Norwich. Two
Robert Oldisen, Recorder of Norwich, Ipswich and Yarmouth. Three John Oldison,

(01:54):
founder and President of all the literary and scientific institutions
of the time in Kingston and upon Hull. All these
were men of considerable local repute. Second generation, fifteen males
and twelve females, of whom five males and one female
deserve a special mention. One Sir Edward Hall Oldison, Baron

(02:16):
of the ex Chelcier and who the first man of
his year at Cambridge both the mathematics and classics, being
senior wrangler and senior classical middleist, a distinction barely equalled
in the long annals of university achievement. Two Robert Woodhouse,
also a senior wrangler, Lucasian and Bloomian professor of astronomy

(02:38):
at Cambridge. Three the Reverend Samuel h Olderson, third Rainlow
and tutor of Caius College. Four Sir James Oldison m
D F r S six, wrangler for four years President
of the Royal College of Physicians. Five Colonel Ralph Alderson
r E. A distinguished officer and one of the first

(03:00):
government commissioners of railways. One Missus Amelia Oppe, the novelist
third generation. I have not sufficient information, although I know
that it includes many persons of ability, among whom is
Major h Olgison r A, a distinguished officer, also a
married lady of high artistic powers. Bentham a family consisting

(03:25):
of only three male representatives, all eminent and one illustrious
first generation two brothers. One Jeremy Bentham, jurist to the
highest rank Life by Sir J. Bowring, prefixed to the
collected works edited by him. Two General Sir Mss Samuel Bentham,
whose early manhood was spent in the Russian service, distinguished

(03:47):
for his numerous administrative reforms and singular inventive power. Afterwards
Inspected General of the naval works in England. Life by
his widow eighteen sixty two. Second generation, one male only,
George Bentham, FRS. Systematic botanist of the highest rank in
early life, writer on logic for many years, President of

(04:09):
the Lennaian Society Carpenter. Among the characteristics of this family
are literary and scientific enterprise, philanthropic effort, nonconformity, and aptitude
for oral exposition. First generation Reverend Land Carpenter, l l d.
Unitarian minister, descended from a non subscribing Presbyterian family and

(04:31):
married to a wife of similar descent. A leading member
of the Liberal Party in Exeter and Bristol, extremely active
in the promotion of philanthropic objects, both literary and scientific
in his studies, and a man of local celebrity. Memoirs
by his son eighteen forty two. Second generation, two males
and three females, of whom both the males and one

(04:53):
female will require notice. One William B. Carpenter, FRS, Register
of the London University, Physiologist and frequent writer and speaker
on scientific subjects, in many cases connected with social amelioration.
Two Doctor B. P. Carpenter of Montreal, conchologist, actively engaged

(05:13):
in philanthropic work. One Merry Carpenter, actively engaged in the
foundation and organization of philanthropic institutions, especially juvenot reformatories, and
promoter of female education in India. Third generation too young
for special notice includes an influential, dissenting minister and a
very successful student Darwin. There are many instances in this

(05:38):
family of a love for natural history and theory, and
of an aptitude for collecting facts in business like but
peculiar ways. Speaking from private sources of knowledge. I am
sure that these characteristics are hereditary rather than traditional. There
is also a strong element of individuality in the race,
which is adverse to traditional influence. First generation one Erasmus Darwin,

(06:02):
m D f r s, physician, physiologist and poet. His
Botanic Garden had an immense reputation at the time it
was written, for besides his intriistic merits, it chimed in
with his sentiments and mode of expression of his day.
The ingenuity of doctor Darwin's numerous writings and theories is
truly remarkable. He was held in very high esteem by
his scientific friends, including such celebrities as Priestley and James Watt,

(06:26):
and it is by a man's position among his contemporaries
and competitoris that his worth may most justly be appraised. Unfortunately,
for his memory he has had no good biographer. He
was a man of great vigor, humor and geniality. Miss
Seawood's Life of Him and latterly a panphlet by doctor Ridgeson.
See also Mettillard's Life of Witchwood two. His brother, Robert

(06:51):
Waring Darwin wrote Principal Botanica, which reached its third edition
eighteen ten. It is said in Mettiyard's Life of Wigwood
that the Darwin's rang from a lettered and intellectual race,
as his doctor Darwin's father was one among the earliest
members of the Spelding Club second generation, seven males, three females,

(07:11):
of whom three males deserve notice one Charles Darwin, who
died at the age of only twenty one, poisoned by
it as section wound, but who had already achieved such
distinction that his name has been frequently mentioned in biographical dictionaries.
His thesis on obtaining the Gold Medal of the Edinburgh
University was on the distinction between pus and mucus. It

(07:35):
was a real step forward in those early days of
exact medical science, and was thought highly over the time.
Two Robert Waring Darwin M. Dvars, a physician and shrewd
observer of great provincial celebrity on many grounds, who lived
at Shrewsbury. He married a daughter of Wedgwoods, and was
father of Charles Darwin C. Blou. Three Sir Francis Darwin,

(07:59):
originally of position, but for many use living in a
then secluded part of Derbyshire, surrounded by animal oddities. Half
while at pigs ran about the woods, tamed snakes, frequented
the house, and the like. Third generation eight males fourteen females,
of whom three males may be mentioned, but illustriously among

(08:19):
them one Charles Darwin f r. S the Aristotle of
our days, whom all scientific men reverence and love. The
simple grandeur of those conclusions is as remarkable as the
magnitude and multifariousness of their foundation. There is much ability
in many individuals in this generation who bear the name
of Darwin, and it has been strongly directed to natural history.

(08:41):
In the case of two, a son of Sir Francis Darwin,
a frequent writer under a well known non duplune on
sporting matters, among those who do not bear that name,
being children of the daughters of Sir Erasmus Darwin. I
mention three myself with all humility as four and technically
within the limits of the group of scientific men under

(09:03):
discussion on the ground of former geographical work, and having
had much to do in the administration of various scientific societies.
Fourth generation includes very few individuals who have reached mature manhood.
Among these are one George Darwin, second wrangler at Cambridge,
author of an important article on restrictions to liberty of marriage.

(09:25):
Two Captain Leonard Darwin r A, who was second in
the competition of his year for Woolwich and now engaged
on the transit of Venus Expedition. Three Henry Parker, Fellow
of University College Oxford, classical scholar and chemist Dawson Turner.
This family is characterized by great intellectual activity and much

(09:47):
artistic taste. First generation Dawson Turner FRS, botanist scholar and
command of unwearied activity in collecting and compiling, and an
encourager of work and others. Of his two uncles was
a Reverend Joseph Turner, senior wrangler in seventeen sixty eight,
and much distinguished by the personal friendship of mister Pitt.

(10:08):
Among his ten male first cousins on the paternal side
were the late Lord Justice Turner and his accomplished brothers.
Second generation, two males and six females. The latter were
all remarkable for their energy, accomplishments, and a large share
they took in the literary labor of their father and husbands,
which was not confined to transcribing. Three were accomplished artists,

(10:30):
one a musician, another well versed in Greek. Third generation,
of those above the age of thirty, there are five
males three females, of whom four males deserve mention. One
Doctor Joseph Hooker, President of the Royal Society, very eminent botanist,
director of Q Gardens, and formerly Tibetan traveler and naturalist

(10:50):
to an Antarctic expedition. His father was Sir William Hooker
f r s. Also one of the first botanists of
his day and director of Q Gardens. Two Francis Palgrave,
editor of the Golden Treasury, scholar and art critic. Three
Gifford Palgreave, orientalist, Arabian explorer, and author of one of
the most remarkable works of travel ever written. Four r

(11:14):
h English Palgrave statistician. The father of the three last
was Sir Francis Palgrave, historian ourcourt scholarsic success with much
love for science. First generation the Reverend Vernon Harcourt, Archbishop
of York, a man of polished intellect and social ifts.

(11:35):
Second generation ten males and three females, of whom four
males deserve notice. One the Reverend W. Vernon Harcourt, f
r s. Chemist, the first president and one of the
founders of the British Association at a Taiwan size was
partially ridiculed and partially denounced. He was the chief framer
of its elaborate constitution, which is I believe a solitary

(11:58):
instance of the invention of a complex administrative machinery, which
worked perfectly from the first and has continued working almost
unchanged for nearly half a century. It has served as
a model upon which many other societies have organized themselves.
Two Egerton and three Edward Vernon Harcourt, both double firsts
at Oxford, and four Granville Vernon Harcourt, who died when

(12:23):
an undergraduate at Oxford, having gained the Latin University Prize.
Third generation ten males and thirteen females, of whom two
males deserve mention. One Sir William Vernon Harcourt, m P,
lately Solicitor General, Professor of International, Lord Cambridge, well known
as a political writer under the name Historicus. Two Augustus G.

(12:47):
Vernon Harcourt for s a distinguished chemist Lee's Reader in
Chemistry at Oxford Hill. The characteristics of this family are
active interest in social improvement, power of organization, mechanical aptitude,
and general sterlingworth. Its type in the second generation seemed

(13:09):
to have been unusually pure. First generation Thomas Wright Hill,
descendant from stanch independence and married to a wife of
equal vigor and fortitude who came from a family noted
for mechanical aptitude, which she transmitted to her descendants. He
rose by his own exertions and, estimating forty, established a
school much spoken of at the time, on an entirely

(13:31):
new principle of management at Hazelwood, near Birmingham. The boys
were taken into a ministry of co operation. They regulated
their own discipline, and the things they learned were of
the most varied kind. Some men of high note were
educated there, and among these at least one of the
scientific men of my list. He gave much attention to
mental calculation, and even on his deathbed estimating eighty eight,

(13:53):
invented and successfully applied a new method for determining for
any year the date of Easter. Also known for his
anown of articulate sounds and phonography. Short biographical notice in
Annual Report are Astronomical Society, February thirteen, eighteen fifty two.
Second generation consisted of five males and two females. All

(14:13):
five males had strong points of resemblance and deserve notice.
One Sir Rowland Hill, K C B and FRS, originator
and organizer of the system of penny postage, which is
an influence of the first order of mattitude in modern civilization.
He was noted in youth for powers of mental calculation,
and in some points were superior even to Zera Colburn

(14:35):
and George Bidder. Thus he could mentally extract to the
nearest intigo the qube brute of any number not exceeding
two thousand millions. First inventor eighteen thirty five of rotary printing,
the method which with slight changes of detail is still
in use for newspapers, rewarded by three separate grants viz.
In eighteen forty six by a public testimonial of the

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value of thirteen thousand, three high ndred and sixty pounds,
in eighteen sixty four by the award from the Treasury
of his full salary of two thousand pounds a year
on his retirement, and in the same year by a
parliamentary grant of twenty thousand pounds. Two. Matthew Davenport Hill qc.
Late Recorder of Birmingham, law reformer of note, especially in

(15:21):
reference to dealings with the criminal class, substitute in promptitude,
certainty and strictness for delay, uncertainty and severity see Law Magazine,
July eighteen seventy two. Three. Edwin Hill, Superintendent of the
Stamp Department, first inventor of the envelope folding machine, since

(15:41):
improved by mister de LaRue. He completely remodeled the stamping
machinery at Somerset House. Was most highly commended for these
improvements in each of the first three reports of the
Commissioners of Inland Revenue, and again by a minute on
his retirement, referring to his eminent and exceptional service. Like
his brother, was a standard writer on dealings with criminals,

(16:03):
also on currency. Four Arthur Head master of bruce Castle School,
where he fully developed the principles first laid down by
his father. Five Frederick Hill, formerly Inspector of Prisons then
Assistant Secretary of the Post Office, a greater and thorough
form of the prisons under his observation, aiming to fit
prisoners for honest life on their release. Concurrently, he contributed

(16:26):
numerous memoirs on social improvements. Generally third generation fourteen males
and seventeen females, among many of whom the family characteristics
continue well marked. Thus one doctor Berkeley Hill and two
Miss Emily Clark of Adelaide, Australia, are both actively engaged
and were connected with pauper children. La Trobe a family

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characterized by its religious banter, musical and literary tastes, joined
to a love of enterprise. First generation Benjamin Latrobe, a
convert to the Ruvians, of which a stainable sect he
was a patriarch and a mainstay Aikin's History of Manchester.
Second generation three males, zero females, two at least of

(17:12):
whom deserves notice one Christianic Natus Latrobe, author of the
well known collection of Sacred Music. Two Benjamin Latrobe, architect
and engineer in America. Third generation seven males, two females,
of whom two deserve especial notice. One Charles Joseph Latrobe,
governor of Victoria at the time of the Gold Discoveries,

(17:35):
author of a once extremely popular book on Switzerland called
The Alpenstock, which was the precursor of Murray's Handbooks, a
more generally diffused knowledge. Many others of this generation who
bear the Latrobe name are gifted with the family characteristics. Two.
John Frederick Beckman, f r S. Distinguished engineer. Fourth generation,

(17:57):
still young, includes Colonel Osmond Latrobe, who was chief of
General Lee's staff in America at an early age Playfair.
Among the characteristics of this family is an interest in
various branches of science, joined to a capacity for official
work and public action. First generation Reverend Doctor Playfair, principal

(18:20):
of the University of Saint Andrew's, author of a work
on geography. Second generation four males and three females, of
whom three males deserve notice. One George Playfair, m D.
Chief Inspector General of Hospitals in Bengal. He was ahead
of his profession in India and author of various medical memoirs.
Two Colonel Sir Hugh Lyon Playfair, who on his retirement

(18:43):
from service, pursued life of in seasoned activity and public improvement.
Numerous biographical notices were written of him, Sir after his death.
Three Colonel William Playfair, whose memory still lives in India
as one of the most accomplished amateur actors. There were
two cousins in this generation, the one of very distinguished man,

(19:05):
Professor Playfair, the celebrated mathematician and author of the Hartonian theory.
The other was mister Playfair, an architect of much eminence,
to whom many of the principal public buildings in Edinburgh
are ADU third generation twenty one males and twenty females,
of whom two males deserve a special notice. One the

(19:26):
Right Honorary Lion Playfair, m p F r S, formerly
Professor of Chemistry, long engaged in scientific administration of various kinds,
and Postmaster General at the close of the late administration.
Two Colonel R. L. Playfair r A, the well known
Consul General of algiers and naturalist. A third brother is

(19:47):
a professor at King's College Roscoe. The type of this
family is strongly marked is being characterized by much cultivation, refinement,
and poetical taste. First generation William Roscoe, author of Lorenzo
di Medici, Leo, x et cetera. The above mentioned characteristics

(20:08):
were strongly marked in him life by his son, memoirs
by Hartley Coleridge in Northern Worthies and sketches by Washington Irving.
Second generation seven males and three females, of whom four
males and two females deserve notice. One Thomas Roscoe, editor
of Landsay's History of Painting and author of many other works.

(20:30):
Two Henry Roscoe, author of a standard book on the
law of evidence of British lawyers and of the life
of his father. Three and four both decidedly gifted and
authors of poems of merit. One Jane Elizabeth Roscoe, a
woman of superior mind, intensely interested in public affairs, writer
of some poems. Two Mary An Roscoe, authoress of poems

(20:56):
of merit. Third generation seventeen males sixteen females, of whom
three males and one female deserve notice. One William Cadwell Roscoe,
poet and critic, memoirs and collected works by R. H. Hutton.
Two Henry Unfield Roscoe, f r S. Professor, Eminent chemist.
Three William Stanley Jevrens, f r S. Professor, author of

(21:20):
The Call Question and of various works on logic and
political economy. One Margaret Roscoe afterwards Missus Sandbach, novelist. Stratchy
an old family, small in numbers, but of a marked
and persistent type. Among its characteristics are an active interest
in public matters and an administrative aptitude. There have been

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men of eminence in generations previous to those mentioned below.
First generation Sir Henry Stratchey, under Secretary of State and
otherwise employed in high official posts in India, America and England.
Real negotiative peace at Versailles. Stanhope's History of England received
Medal of Society of Arts for having introduced indigo into Florida.

(22:05):
Second generation three males, one female, of whom two males
deserve notice. One Sir Henry Stratchy, Indian judge called by
James mill in his History of India the wisest of
the company's servants aided much in the organization of the
Indian Judicial Administration. Two Edward Stratchy, author of Reports of

(22:26):
Acknowledged Weight on Indian Judicial Subject's fifth Report. Third generation
six males and one female, of whom three males deserve notice.
One Sir John Stratchy, eminent in all branches of civil
administration in India. Two Henry's Stratchy, Tibetan explorer, Gold Medallist
of the Royal Geographical Society. Three Major General Richard Stratchy,

(22:49):
r E FRS, Active Administrator of Indian Engineering work. Physical
geographer Taylor is of on Gar. Numerous members of this
family have shown a curious combination of restless literary talent,
artistic taste, evangelical disposition, and mechanical aptitudes. There is an
interesting work published upon it called Family Pen by the

(23:10):
Reverend Isaac Taylor eighteen sixty seven Sea Below in the
fourth generation, which contains a list of ninety publications by
ten different members of the family up to that time,
and there have been more publications and at least one
new writer since first generation. Isaac Taylor came to London
with an artist's ambition, ended up being a reputable engraver.

(23:32):
He added for many years as secretary to the Incorporated
Society of Artists of Great Britain, which was the forerunner
of the Royal Academy. All the family characteristics were strongly
marked in him. Second generation consisted of three males, all
of whom deserved notice. One Charles Taylor, a learned recluse,
editor of Calmet's Bible. Two Reverend Isaac Taylor, author of

(23:56):
Scenes in Europe, et cetera. Educated as an engraver and
far surpassing his father in ability. He married Anne Martin,
a woman of reputed genius, authoress of the family mansion.
And the numerous able members of the Taylor family for
the two next generations sprung with one exception from this
fortunate union three Josiah Taylor, eminent publisher of architectural works.

(24:19):
He made a large fortune. Third generation descendants of Isaac
Taylor and Anne Martin, three males and three females, of
whom two males and two females deserve notice. One Isaac Taylor,
author of Natural History of Enthusiasm. Two Jeffreys Taylor, author
of Ralph Richards Young Islanders, et cetera. One and two

(24:42):
Anne and Jan Taylor joined authors of original poems. Anne
married the brethrend Joseph Gilbert. In this same generation is
ranked the Reverend Howard Hinton, a leading Baptist minister who
was a son of one of the sisters in the
previous generation and his father of a well known Aorist.
Fourth generation, six males and nine females now living, and

(25:04):
some few others who were deceased. Of these, five males
and one female deserve special notice. One Reverend Isaac Taylor,
authorf Words and Places of the Family pen and of
Etrucian researches. Two Josiah Gilbert, authorf the Dolomite Mountains. Three
Joseph Gilbert f haarres eminent for his chemical and physiological

(25:27):
researches in their relation to agriculture. The paternal race of
Gilbert had also a marked type. Four Thomas Martin Herbert,
independent minister of scholar and writer. Five Edward Gilbert Herbert
of the Chancery bar who died young of diferior One
Helen Taylor, Authoress of Sabbath Bells, Wedgewood. This family is

(25:52):
curious for the sporadic character of its ability, as shown
by the number of its members in rather distant relationships
who have become distinguished. The Wedgewoods must originally have been
a pure type, because the name was prevalent in the
village where the great potter was born, and the bearers
of it were largely interrelated and followed the same craft.
He himself married a Wedgewood who was a third cousin,

(26:13):
and both his father and grandfather were potters. Metriard's life.
First generation Josiah Wedgwood f r s. Father of British pottery,
whose once abundant works now fetch fabulous prices. Second generation
three sons and four daughters. One son deserves notice viz.
Thomas Wedgwood, who died young. His abilities were great. He

(26:36):
was an ardent experimentalist and has some claim to rank
as the first person whoever made a photograph see page seven.
Third generation, including descendence from the sisters of Josiah Wedgwood,
contains one Hensley Wedgewood. English Dictionary and origin of language
to Charles Darwin f R S. C Under Darwin. Three

(26:57):
Sir Henry Holland Bart M. D f r S, who
died subsequently to my having begun this inquiry. Four s H.
Pykes M. D ever S Professor of Hygiene to the
Army Medical School, fourth generation c under Darwin statistical results.

(27:18):
Let us now look at the near relations of the
scientific men from a purely statistical point of view, combining
those already quoted with the rest, and calculate the proportion
of them who have achieved distinction. It appears from my returns,
which are rather troublesome to deal with, owing to incompleteness
of information, that one hundred and twenty scientific men have
certainly not more than two hundred and fifty brothers, four

(27:39):
hundred and sixty uncles, and one thousand, two hundred male
cousins who reach adult life, they have somewhat less than
one hundred and twenty fathers and two hundred and forty grandfathers.
Because the list contains brothers and cousins, I will take
two groups one grandfathers and uncles both paternal and maternal,
say about six hundred and sixty persons twos and male

(28:00):
cousins on both sides one thousand, four hundred and fifty persons.
On the supposition, which is somewhat in excess the fact
that I am dealing with complete information concerning the families
of one hundred twenty scientific men. I find in the
first group of six hundred and sixty persons. One Jeremy Bentham,
a great leader of thought and founder of a school
of philosophy. Two Wedgewood, the father of a national industry

(28:24):
in art. Three Compton, the inventor of a machine for
cotton manufacture, which gave a timely impetus to the great
national industry. Four masculine an astronomer Royal five Playfair, the
scientific head of a Scotch university. Six William Smith, founder
of British geology. Seven our Court, the law giver and

(28:47):
first president of the British Association. Eight Pemberton Mills, who
refused both the secretaryship of State and a peerage. Nine
la Trobe, who was to the very worthy sect of
the Morovians much what Barclay was to the Quakers. That
is to say, not its founder, but a great supporter
to it. Ten and eleven two Archbishops High Court of

(29:11):
York and Broderick of Gashel. Twelve Erasmus Darwin, poet and
philosopher of high reputinies. Day thirteen Isaac Taylor, author of
Natural History of Enthusiasm, et cetera. I will stop here,
though it would be easy to extend the list considerably
if I took a slightly lower level of celebrity for
my limit. Every one of these thirteen men when he

(29:34):
died was or would have been if he had not
been previously outlives, his reputation the subject of numerous obituary notices,
and his death an event of sufficient public interest to
warrant his being reckoned as an eminent man. I formerly calculated,
and have since seen no reason to doubt my conclusion
that the annual obituary of the United Kingdom does not

(29:54):
include more than fifty men who are eminent in that sense. Therefore,
this small band of SUS six hundred and sixty individuals
contains almost one fourth as much eminence as is annually
produced by the United Kingdom. A different criterion of eminence
may be found in the number of celebrated men reared
in the universities, whether a large proportion of the brightest

(30:14):
youths of the nation find their way. I examined the
list of honors at Cambridge in the ten years eighteen
twenty nine inclusive, and also the four years eighteen forty two,
five of which I happen to have some personal knowledge,
whence it appeared to me that, on the average, six
hundred and sixty Cambridge students do not produce more than
three men whose general eminence is of equal rank to

(30:37):
that of the thirteen men in the six hundred and
sixty grandfathers and uncles. Under consideration, a more exact test,
and the best of which I can think, is to
examine into the fate of the boys at large schools.
It is not difficult to learn the productiveness of each
school as regards eminence, because there are annual gatherings to

(30:57):
which former schoolboys who have one distinction are generally envis fighted,
and not unfrequently come. As men begin to distinguish the
selms at thirty five, and may be supposed willing to
attend on such occasions till seventy. The notabilities invited to
be present at school gatherings present the product of say
thirty five years. I feel sure that six hundred and
sixty middle class boys do not turn out more than

(31:19):
a fraction of one eminent man, though they may turn
out many who do well in life and earn fortunes
and local repute. The second of the group consists, as
already mentioned of brothers and male cousins, making a total
of about one thousand, four hundred and fifty men. I
will examine the achievements of these solely in respect to
high university success, partially because several of the cousins are

(31:42):
too young to have had time fully to distinguish themselves. Otherwise,
let us limit ourselves to the following names. That this
would be lengthened if we took a lower level. Cambridge
one Elderson, both first Classic and Senior Wrangler, that is,
first mathematician of his year at Cambridge. Two wood House
Senior Wrangler, three Maine Senior Wrangler, four Humphrey Senior Classic,

(32:08):
five Scott Joint Senior Classic Oxford. Here the method of
examination affords no means of ascertaining who is absolutely the
first of his year, since the men are grouped alphabetically
in classes, and not according to their order of merit
in those classes. The names I will select are those
of men who were in the first class and have

(32:29):
subsequently distinguished themselvesiz. Six Webberly, head Master of Winchester, now
Bishop of Salisbury. Seven Francis Palgrave, Critic, eight Honorary George Bronwick,
first class both in classics and history. Well known as
an influential, though anonymous writer. It is a remarkable fact

(32:49):
or coincidence, that five men out of a group of
one thousand, four hundred fifty, or say one out of
every three hundred, should be first in his year in
the single University of Cambridge, either in mathematics or in classics.
This is about the proportion that exists among the men
who actually go to Cambridge, and these, as before mentioned,
are no chance selections, but include a large part of

(33:12):
the annual pick of the intellectual flower of the whole nation. Moreover,
these distinguished brothers and cousins of scientific men are themselves interrelated,
the two senior wranglers, Alderson and Woodhouse being first cousins,
and the two classics Scott and Brodrick being first cousins. Also,
both families being in other respects rich and nobility. We

(33:34):
may otherwise appreciate the influence of aridity as distinguished from
that of tradition and education, by observing the similarity of
disposition that sometimes prevails among numerous scattered branches of the
same family. The two following extracts from the replies I
have received are illustrations of what I mean. One. My

(33:54):
numerous relatives, though unknown to fame, are mostly characterized by
a great breadth of thought and rare independence of action.
These characteristics seem clearly traced by the writer to a
great grandparent who emigrated from Germany. Two counting third cousins.
I have scores and scores of relatives, and scarcely an
unsteady person among them. I have numerous returns in which

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the briter analyzes his own nature and confidently ascribes different
parts of it to different ancestors. One correspondent has ingenuously
written out his natural characteristics in red, blue and black
inks according to their origin, a method by which its
anatomy is displayed at a glance. My data afforded a
proximate estimate of the ratio according to which effective ability

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hereditary gives plus education plus opportunity is distributed throughout the
different degrees of kinship. They state one the number of
kinsmen in the several near degrees, two the number of
those among them who were in any sense public men,
and three the number of those who not been publicly known,
had nevertheless considerable reputation among their friends. It is therefore

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only requisite after some previous revision, to add the returns together,
and to compare the number of distinguished kinsmen in their
various degrees with the total number of kinsmen in those
degrees to obtain results whose ratio to one another is
the one we are in search of. These conclusions are
not materially vitiated by the fact that different correspondence may

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have different estimates of what constitutes distinction, so long as
each rido is consistent to his own scale. I have
tried to figure in many ways without any revision at all,
with moderate revision, and with careful sifting, and I find
the proportions to come out much the same in every case.
In comparing these with previous results obtained from an analysis

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of men of much higher general eminence Hereditary Genius, page
three hundred seventeen, I find the falling off an ability
from the central figure, the hero of the family, to
be less rapid as the distance of the kinship increases.
There is, however, one group in that book consisting of
divines whose general eminence is not so great as the rest,
and which also resembles the scientific men in the family

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distribution of ability. My former figures for one hundred divines
gave twenty two notable fathers, forty two brothers, twenty eight grandfathers,
and forty two uncles. My present results for one hundred
scientific men are twenty eight, thirty six, twenty and forty respectively.
As regards the relative influence of the paternal and maternal lines,

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I find close equality. My method of comparison is by
setting off paternal grandfathers and paternal uncles against maternal grandfathers
and maternal uncles, no other near degree of kinship being
available for the purpose. My results for one hundred scientific
men are paternal grandfathers public characters ten a high private reputation,
three paternal uncles thirteen and eight, making a total of

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a paternal side of thirty four. On the other hand,
the maternal grandfathers are eleven and four maternal uncles fifteen
and seven make our total on the maternal side of
thirty seven. I leave to whether chapter some remarks about
the relative value of maternal and paternal educational influences on
scientific men. End of Chapter one of Englishmen of Science