How Francis Galton's theory of eugenics led to murder of MILLIONS - Daily Mail

He created a vented chapeau to support the caput cool, invented a caller mode to chopped circular cakes and dreamt up an algorithm for making the cleanable cupful of tea. 

But Francis Galton's achievements arsenic an inventor, meteorologist and statistician airy into insignificance erstwhile compared to what helium is chiefly remembered for.

The Victorian idiosyncratic was the founding begetter of eugenics: the question that aimed to chopped retired supposedly undesirable quality traits from the population.

Now, a caller BBC Radio 4 documentary presented by well-known idiosyncratic and writer Adam Rutherford is acceptable to archer the acheronian past of eugenics. 

The beliefs became hugely fashionable crossed the satellite successful the aboriginal 20th Century, with the archetypal planetary legislature connected the taxable being held successful London successful 1912. 

Eminent figures including aboriginal Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and the inventor of the telephone Alexander Graham Bell were among the attendees.

But the conception that the familial prime of the quality contention could beryllium improved yet led to immoderate of the worst horrors of the 20th Century.

The archetypal sterilisation instrumentality - which stopped immoderate disabled radical from having children - was imposed successful the US authorities of Indiana successful 1907. Around 70,000 radical were forcibly sterlised successful the state until the signifier was yet stopped successful the 1970s. 

Eugenics ideas were past taken up with zeal successful Nazi Germany, archetypal with a akin sterilisation programme and past successful the Holocaust, erstwhile six cardinal Jewish men, women and children were murdered during the Second World War. 

Galton's enactment beyond eugenics was wide and varied. 

He was the archetypal idiosyncratic to crippled a upwind illustration and had created a 'beauty map' of Britain that graded women connected a standard of atrractive to repulsive. 

Galton, who took large pridefulness successful the information that helium was a relative of Charles Darwin -the begetter of Evolution - coined the word eugenics successful the 1880s by combining the Greek words for 'well' and 'born'.

His archetypal ideas had been inspired by speechmaking Darwin's celebrated enactment On the Origin of Species, which laid retired his mentation of earthy selection. 

Galton pursued eugenics to, successful his words, springiness 'the much suitable races, oregon strains of blood, a amended accidental of prevailing implicit the little suitable.'

He besides said that it should beryllium pursued arsenic a 'jihad, a beatified warfare against customs and prejudices that impair the carnal and motivation qualities of our race.'  

Speaking to Dr Rutherford successful Bad Blood: The Story of Eugenics, subject historiographer Professor Philippa Levine said: 'Galton's peculiar contribution, successful summation to the word eugenics, is this rule of bringing unneurotic the quantification connected the 1 manus and the imagination of improving the quality contention connected the other. 

'And it is erstwhile you enactment the 2 and 2 unneurotic that you get the explosion, I think, of eugenics.' 

The conception of eugenics proved hugely fashionable successful wider society, with much than a 100 caller written connected the theme. 

Galton's ideas were besides taken up by the Eugenics Education Society, which was founded successful Britain successful 1907.

It campaigned for sterilisation and matrimony restrictions for the anemic to forestall the degeneration of Britain's population.

A twelvemonth aft Galton's decease successful 1911, the International Eugenics Congress was attended by the large and the good.

Among the talks astatine the league were those which claimed the alleged inferiority of the mediocre and moving classes. 

As Home Secretary, Churchill would spell connected to constitute aboriginal drafts of the Mental Deficiency Act, which became instrumentality successful 1913. 

It allowed for the involuntary institutionalisation of those deemed to beryllium 'feeble minded', but crucially the instrumentality did not see immoderate programme of enforced sterilisation. 

In the US however, forced sterlisation was taken up with zeal successful 32 states. 

In California alone, much than 20,000 radical imprisoned successful institutions for the mentally sick were enactment done the process from 1918 until 1953.

In Virginia, betwixt 1924 and 1979, much than 7,000 radical were permanently made infertile. 

Other countries which passed akin sterilisation laws successful the 1920s and 30s included Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland. 

But it was successful Nazi Germany that the astir barbaric crimes were committed successful the sanction of improving society. 

In a web of decease camps that included Auschwitz-Birkenau successful Nazi-occupied Poland, millions were murdered successful state chambers and by different means from 1941 until 1945.

At Auschwitz alone, 1.1million radical met their fate. 

The Nazis murdered thousands much disabled, mentally sick and cheery people.  

But adjacent aft the atrocities committed successful the Second World War, eugenics did not spell away.

China is believed to person sterilised 10,000 women who violated its erstwhile one-child rule. 

The signifier is besides reportedly being utilized by Chinese authorities connected thousands of Uighur Muslims. 

In India, millions were believed to person been coercively sterilised nether erstwhile premier curate Indira Gandhi's policies. 

The archetypal occurrence of Bad Blood: The Story of Eugenics airs connected Monday astatine 4.30pm connected BBC Radio 4.