When the Time Seems Ripe: Eugenics, the Annals, and the Subtle Persistence of Typological Thinking

Abstract

This journal began in 1925 as the Annals of Eugenics. Much has changed since then. The original Editors' primary eugenic objective was not achieved, and eugenics justifiably became notorious for racism and gross abuse of human rights. But one founding aim was to publish advances in statistical genetics, and that objective prospered in the journal's pages from its beginning to the present day. The online availability of the original issues will be useful to those interested in the history of both eugenics and human genetics and will provide a reminder of how the careless use of genetical concepts can go astray. © 2010 The Authors Annals of Human Genetics © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd/University College London.