Frederick Osborn
Encyclopedia
Major General Frederick Henry Osborn (21 March 1889—5 January 1981) was an American philanthropist, military leader, and eugenicist. He was a founder of several organizations, and played a central part in reorienting eugenics
in the years following World War II away from the race- and class-consciousness from earlier periods. The American Philosophical Society
considers him to have been "the respectable face of eugenic research in the post-war period" (APS, 1983).
in 1910 and attended Trinity College, Cambridge
, for a postgraduate year. His family had made their fortune in the railroad business, and he went into the family business up until the outbreak of World War I
, when he served in the American Red Cross
in France
as Commander of the Advance Zone for the last 11 months of the war. In 1928 he became a research associate at the American Museum of Natural History
studying anthropology
and population
.
He was one of the founding members of the American Eugenics Society
in 1926, and joined the Galton Institute in 1928, serving as its Secretary in 1931. He played a central role in the 1936 founding of the Office of Population Research
at Princeton University
, a leading demographic research and training center. Osborn was one of the founding trustees of the Pioneer Fund
in 1937, a charitable foundation charged with promoting eugenics.
According to J. Phillipe Rushton, Osborn was the first to point out (in 1934) in the race and intelligence
discussion of the time, that, although African Americans scored lower than Whites on the Army intelligence tests that were studied, those from five urban
northern state
s scored slightly higher than did Whites from eight rural
southern state
s, demonstrating the importance of cultural factors on IQ
scores. In the following decades, Osborn remained skeptical of the hereditarian hypothesis of the variance in IQ scores found between racial groups. He suspected that environment played a greater role than genetics in the shaping of human beings, and thought eugenics should take place within groups (i.e. well-adapted families should be given the means to have more children) rather than between them (inferior races should be replaced).
An admirer of the reforms instituted in 1930's Sweden
through the efforts of economist Gunnar Myrdal
and his wife Alva
, Osborn emphasizing the eugenic potential of extended state support in child care, recreation, housing, nursery services and education as a means of stimulating fertility among desirable populations. He argued that the aim of eugenics
should be to ensure that every child was wanted. Osborn believed that in this system, which he called the "true freedom of parenthood," the parents most capable of rearing children would be likelier to have more.(Ramsden 2003)
According to the American Philosophical Society, in 1940 he was selected by Franklin Roosevelt to chair the Civilian Advisory Committee on Selective Service. Five months later he took over as Chair of the Army Committee on Welfare and Recreation, responsible for information and education services for military personnel, and in September 1941, he was commissioned as Brigadier General and appointed Chief of the Morale Branch of the War Department (later called the Information and Education Division of Special Services). By the war's end he had earned promotion to Major General and had been awarded a bronze star in Paris, the Distinguished Service Medal, the Selective Service Medal, and was made Honorary Commander in the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.
Osborn served at Princeton as a charter trustee from 1943–1955, and as a member of several advisory boards, including the Curriculum Committee and Psychology Department Council.
In 1954, Osborn played a central role in the founding of the journal Eugenics Quarterly, which changed its name in 1970 to Social Biology (Osborn 1974). The journal is published by Duke University
.
During the post-war years, one of his lasting influences was shifting the emphasis of American eugenics to positive eugenics, which seeks to achieve eugenic goals through encouraging the spread of desired traits, as opposed to negative eugenics, which seeks to achieve eugenic goals through discouraging the spread of undesired traits.
Eugenics
Eugenics is the "applied science or the bio-social movement which advocates the use of practices aimed at improving the genetic composition of a population", usually referring to human populations. The origins of the concept of eugenics began with certain interpretations of Mendelian inheritance,...
in the years following World War II away from the race- and class-consciousness from earlier periods. The American Philosophical Society
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society, founded in 1743, and located in Philadelphia, Pa., is an eminent scholarly organization of international reputation, that promotes useful knowledge in the sciences and humanities through excellence in scholarly research, professional meetings, publications,...
considers him to have been "the respectable face of eugenic research in the post-war period" (APS, 1983).
World War I and the founding of organizations
He graduated from Princeton UniversityPrinceton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
in 1910 and attended Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
, for a postgraduate year. His family had made their fortune in the railroad business, and he went into the family business up until the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, when he served in the American Red Cross
American Red Cross
The American Red Cross , also known as the American National Red Cross, is a volunteer-led, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education inside the United States. It is the designated U.S...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
as Commander of the Advance Zone for the last 11 months of the war. In 1928 he became a research associate at the American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
studying anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
and population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
.
He was one of the founding members of the American Eugenics Society
American Eugenics Society
The American Eugenics Society was a society established in 1922 to promote eugenics in the United States.It was the result of the Second International Conference on Eugenics . The founders included Madison Grant, Harry H. Laughlin, Irving Fisher, Henry Fairfield Osborn, and Henry Crampton...
in 1926, and joined the Galton Institute in 1928, serving as its Secretary in 1931. He played a central role in the 1936 founding of the Office of Population Research
Office of Population Research
The Office of Population Research at Princeton University is the oldest population research center in the United States. It was founded in 1936....
at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, a leading demographic research and training center. Osborn was one of the founding trustees of the Pioneer Fund
Pioneer Fund
The Pioneer Fund is an American non-profit foundation established in 1937 "to advance the scientific study of heredity and human differences." Currently headed by psychology professor J. Philippe Rushton, the fund states that it focuses on projects it perceives will not be easily funded due to...
in 1937, a charitable foundation charged with promoting eugenics.
According to J. Phillipe Rushton, Osborn was the first to point out (in 1934) in the race and intelligence
Race and intelligence
The connection between race and intelligence has been a subject of debate in both popular science and academic research since the inception of intelligence testing in the early 20th century...
discussion of the time, that, although African Americans scored lower than Whites on the Army intelligence tests that were studied, those from five urban
Urban area
An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...
northern state
Northern United States
Northern United States, also sometimes the North, may refer to:* A particular grouping of states or regions of the United States of America. The United States Census Bureau divides some of the northernmost United States into the Midwest Region and the Northeast Region...
s scored slightly higher than did Whites from eight rural
Rural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
southern state
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
s, demonstrating the importance of cultural factors on IQ
Intelligence quotient
An intelligence quotient, or IQ, is a score derived from one of several different standardized tests designed to assess intelligence. When modern IQ tests are constructed, the mean score within an age group is set to 100 and the standard deviation to 15...
scores. In the following decades, Osborn remained skeptical of the hereditarian hypothesis of the variance in IQ scores found between racial groups. He suspected that environment played a greater role than genetics in the shaping of human beings, and thought eugenics should take place within groups (i.e. well-adapted families should be given the means to have more children) rather than between them (inferior races should be replaced).
An admirer of the reforms instituted in 1930's Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
through the efforts of economist Gunnar Myrdal
Gunnar Myrdal
Karl Gunnar Myrdal was a Swedish Nobel Laureate economist, sociologist, and politician. In 1974, he received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences with Friedrich Hayek for "their pioneering work in the theory of money and economic fluctuations and for their penetrating analysis of the...
and his wife Alva
Alva
- People :*A. Shanker Alva , Indian politician and lawyer*Bartolomé de Alva , Novohispanic mestizo secular priest and Nahuatl translator*Jeevaraj Alva , Indian politician...
, Osborn emphasizing the eugenic potential of extended state support in child care, recreation, housing, nursery services and education as a means of stimulating fertility among desirable populations. He argued that the aim of eugenics
Eugenics
Eugenics is the "applied science or the bio-social movement which advocates the use of practices aimed at improving the genetic composition of a population", usually referring to human populations. The origins of the concept of eugenics began with certain interpretations of Mendelian inheritance,...
should be to ensure that every child was wanted. Osborn believed that in this system, which he called the "true freedom of parenthood," the parents most capable of rearing children would be likelier to have more.(Ramsden 2003)
World War II and later life
Many civil rights leaders alleged that, even after the revelation of genocide in World War II, eugenic influences remained strong in the United States due to Osborn and the population society he participated on (including John D. Rockefeller, Lewis Strauss, Karl Compton, and Detlev Bronk). He also encouraged and endorsed programs in Nazi Germany that sterilized Jews, Poles, and others deemed "unsuitable" to breed. Although Hitler's genocidal tactics and acts caused revulsion in the United States, he continued to promote eugenic ideals. Source: The Continuing Struggle against Genocide: Indigenous Women's Reproductive Rights by: D. Marie Ralstin-Lewis Published by University of Minnesotaa Press.According to the American Philosophical Society, in 1940 he was selected by Franklin Roosevelt to chair the Civilian Advisory Committee on Selective Service. Five months later he took over as Chair of the Army Committee on Welfare and Recreation, responsible for information and education services for military personnel, and in September 1941, he was commissioned as Brigadier General and appointed Chief of the Morale Branch of the War Department (later called the Information and Education Division of Special Services). By the war's end he had earned promotion to Major General and had been awarded a bronze star in Paris, the Distinguished Service Medal, the Selective Service Medal, and was made Honorary Commander in the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.
Osborn served at Princeton as a charter trustee from 1943–1955, and as a member of several advisory boards, including the Curriculum Committee and Psychology Department Council.
In 1954, Osborn played a central role in the founding of the journal Eugenics Quarterly, which changed its name in 1970 to Social Biology (Osborn 1974). The journal is published by Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
.
During the post-war years, one of his lasting influences was shifting the emphasis of American eugenics to positive eugenics, which seeks to achieve eugenic goals through encouraging the spread of desired traits, as opposed to negative eugenics, which seeks to achieve eugenic goals through discouraging the spread of undesired traits.
External links
- Frederick H. Osborn Papers via American Philosophical SocietyAmerican Philosophical SocietyThe American Philosophical Society, founded in 1743, and located in Philadelphia, Pa., is an eminent scholarly organization of international reputation, that promotes useful knowledge in the sciences and humanities through excellence in scholarly research, professional meetings, publications,...
- Frederick H. Osborn quotes and excerpts
- "Study of Education at Princeton and the 1954 Advisee Project", assisted by Osborn, sought to "replace grand assumptions about university education with quantifiable facts and could potentially 'bring into view an entirely new horizon of educational accomplishment.'"
- Frederick H. Osborn Papers, 1941–1963, "correspondence and reports related to Osborn's service at Princeton." (papers not available online)
- Social Biology: Biannual Journal of the Study of Social Biology, Duke UniversityDuke UniversityDuke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
.