Autograph Letter Signed ‘Francis Galton’, to H.C.Marillier, amending a dinner invitation by GALTON, Sir Francis

42 Rutland Gate, S.W., 6 October 1898. A good one page example, 7 x 4½ inches. “Also, if it really does not inconvenience, come in ‘dress’ though I am not quite sure that the lady of whom I spoke will be able to come.” Sir Francis Galton (1822-1911), scientist and explorer (North and South Africa), cousin of Charles Darwin, founder of the study of eugenics. Galton had a prolific intellect, and produced over 340 papers and books throughout his lifetime. He also created the statistical concept of correlation and widely promoted regression toward the mean. He was the first to apply statistical methods to the study of human differences and inheritance of intelligence, and introduced the use of questionnaires and surveys for collecting data on human communities, which he needed for genealogical and biographical works and for his anthropometric studies. He was a pioneer in eugenics, coining the term itself and the phrase "nature versus nurture". His book, Hereditary Genius (1869), was the first social scientific attempt to study genius and greatness. Henry Curie Marillier (1865-1951), engineer, writer on literature and art, expert on tapestries, friend of Oscar Wilde.