Robert Klark Graham
Encyclopedia
Robert Klark Graham was born in Harbor Springs, Michigan
, USA. He was a eugenicist
and businessman who made millions by developing shatter-proof plastic eyeglass lenses, and who later founded the Repository for Germinal Choice
, a sperm bank
for geniuses in the hope of implementing a eugenics program.
Graham created his "Nobel sperm bank" in 1980. Initially, his intent was to obtain sperm
only from Nobel laureates, but the scarcity of donors and the low viability of their sperm (because of age) forced Graham to develop a looser set of criteria.
These criteria were numerous and exacting: for example, sperm recipients were required to be married, and male donors were required to have extremely high IQs, though the bank later softened this policy so it could recruit athletes for donors as well as scholars.
By 1983, Graham's sperm bank was reputed to have 19 repeat genius donors, including William Bradford Shockley (1956 Nobel Prize in Physics
and proponent of eugenics http://www.pbs.org/transistor/album1/shockley/shockley3.html) and two anonymous Nobel Prize winners in science.
The bank closed in 1999, two years after the death of its creator. 218 children had been born under its auspices.
Graham's overriding goal was the genetic betterment of human population as well as solid nurture of newly conceived geniuses. This was a form of "positive" eugenics, meant to increase the number of designated "fit" individuals in a population through selective breeding. Because eugenics has been in disrepute in modern times, particularly after the atrocities of Nazism
, Graham's "genius sperm bank" was seen as highly controversial.
Harbor Springs, Michigan
Harbor Springs is a city and resort community in Emmet County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,567 at the 2000 census.Harbor Springs is in a sheltered bay on the north shore of the Little Traverse Bay on Lake Michigan. The Little Traverse Lighthouse is a historic lighthouse on...
, USA. He was a eugenicist
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,...
and businessman who made millions by developing shatter-proof plastic eyeglass lenses, and who later founded the Repository for Germinal Choice
Repository for Germinal Choice
The Repository for Germinal Choice was a sperm bank that existed in Escondido, California from 1980 to 1999. The repository is commonly believed to have accepted only donations from Nobel Prize laureates, although in fact it accepted donations from non-Nobelists, also...
, a sperm bank
Sperm bank
A sperm bank, semen bank or cryobank is a facility that collects and stores human sperm mainly from sperm donors, primarily for the purpose of achieving pregnancies through third party reproduction, notably by artificial insemination...
for geniuses in the hope of implementing a eugenics program.
Graham created his "Nobel sperm bank" in 1980. Initially, his intent was to obtain sperm
Spermatozoon
A spermatozoon is a motile sperm cell, or moving form of the haploid cell that is the male gamete. A spermatozoon joins an ovum to form a zygote...
only from Nobel laureates, but the scarcity of donors and the low viability of their sperm (because of age) forced Graham to develop a looser set of criteria.
These criteria were numerous and exacting: for example, sperm recipients were required to be married, and male donors were required to have extremely high IQs, though the bank later softened this policy so it could recruit athletes for donors as well as scholars.
By 1983, Graham's sperm bank was reputed to have 19 repeat genius donors, including William Bradford Shockley (1956 Nobel Prize in Physics
Nobel Prize in Physics
The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and...
and proponent of eugenics http://www.pbs.org/transistor/album1/shockley/shockley3.html) and two anonymous Nobel Prize winners in science.
The bank closed in 1999, two years after the death of its creator. 218 children had been born under its auspices.
Graham's overriding goal was the genetic betterment of human population as well as solid nurture of newly conceived geniuses. This was a form of "positive" eugenics, meant to increase the number of designated "fit" individuals in a population through selective breeding. Because eugenics has been in disrepute in modern times, particularly after the atrocities of Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
, Graham's "genius sperm bank" was seen as highly controversial.
External links
- Series of Slate.com articles on the sperm bank
- Guardian article on Graham and his bank's history
- Repository for Germinal Choice project by Robert Klark Graham
- The Future of Man by Robert Klark Graham
- The Human Situation And Its Reparation by Robert Klark Graham
- Interview with Robert Klark Graham
- www.thegeniusfactory.net
- "Free to Choose? Insemination, Immigration, and Eugenics", Steve SailerSteve SailerSteven Ernest Sailer is an American journalist and movie critic for The American Conservative, a blogger, a VDARE.com columnist, and a former correspondent for UPI. He writes about race relations, gender issues, politics, immigration, IQ, genetics, movies, and sports.-Personal life:Sailer grew up...
, VDARE.comVDAREVDARE.com, or VDARE, is a website that advocates reduced immigration, especially illegal immigration, into the United States. Former Forbes editor Peter Brimelow supports the site through his VDARE Foundation, also known as Lexington Research Institute Limited...
, July 5, 2005 - BBC article
- Seattle Times death announcement
Further reading
- "Darwin's Engineer", by David Plotz, Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
Magazine, June 5, 2005 (A biography of Graham)