Questions of the Day and of the Fray published 12 numbers between 1910-23. Twelve numbers were published between 1910-23. A facsimile published by Garland reprinted numbers 1-8.[i] Possibly, the omission of number 10 relates to its availability through a different publisher, while the omission of numbers 11 and 12 relates to their biographical nature. Pearson created this series primarily for his own purposes, writing ten of the numbers himself and contributing substantially to the remaining two. He used the Questions series to reply to critics, rebuke opponents, and defend the work of the Galton Laboratory for National Eugenics (GLNE). These combine disputes over data analysis with Pearson’s particularly fierce argumentative rhetoric. Overall, the Questions series gave Pearson an amplifying tool for asserting his dominance in the research community.
Questions of the Day and of the Fray series
Pearson, Karl. 1910. The Influence of Parental Alcoholism on the Physique and Ability of the Offspring. A Reply to the Cambridge Economists (London: Dulau and Co.). 26 pp. Questions of the Day and of the Fray number 1.
Heron, David. 1911. Mental Defect, Mal-Nutrition, and the Teacher’s Appreciation of Intelligence. A Reply to Criticism of the Memoir on ‘The Influence of Defective Physique and Unfavourable Home Environment on the Intelligence of School Children’ (London: Dulau and Co.). 34 pp. Questions of the Day and of the Fray number 2.
Pearson, Karl. 1911. An Attempt to Correct Some of the Misstatements made by Sir Victor Horsley, FRS, FRCS, and Mary D. Sturge, MD, in their Criticisms of the Galton Laboratory Memoir: ‘A First Study of the Influence of Parental Alcoholism, etc.’ (London: Dulau and Co.). 42 pp. Questions of the Day and of the Fray number 3.
Pearson, Karl. 1911. The Fight Against Tuberculosis and the Death-rate from Phthisis (London: Dulau and Co.). 35 pp. Questions of the Day and of the Fray number 4.
Pearson, Karl. 1912. Social Problems: Their Treatment, Past, Present and Future, A Lecture Delivered at the Galton Laboratory for National Eugenics, March 19, 1912 (London: Dulau and Co.). 40 pp. Questions of the Day and of the Fray number 5.
Pearson, Karl. 1912. Eugenics and Public Health. A Lecture Delivered to the York Congress of the Royal Sanitary Institute, July 30th, 1912 (London: Dulau and Co.). 34 pp. Questions of the Day and of the Fray number 6.
Reprinted from Journal of Royal Sanitary Institute. Transactions 33 (1912), 304–335.
Heron, David. 1913. Mendelism and the Problem of Mental Defect. I. A Criticism of Recent American Work (London: Dulau and Co.). 62 pp. Questions of the Day and of the Fray number 7.
Pearson, Karl, and Jaederhølm, Gustav A. 1914. Mendelism and the Problem of Mental Defect. II. On the Continuity of Mental Defect (London: Dulau and Co.). 47 pp. Questions of the Day and of the Fray number 8.
Pearson, Karl. 1914. Mendelism and the Problem of Mental Defect. III. On the Graduated Character of Mental Defect and on the need for Standardizing Judgments as to the Grade of Social Inefficiency Which Shall Involve Segregation (London: Dulau and Co.). 51 pp. Questions of the Day and of the Fray number 9.
Pearson, Karl. 1920. The Science of Man: Its Needs and Its Prospects. Being the Presidential Address to Section H. of the British Association for the Advancement of Science (London: Cambridge University Press). 17 pp. Questions of the Day and of the Fray number 10.
Pearson, Karl. 1922. Francis Galton, 1822–1922. A Centenary Appreciation. With Frontispiece Drawing of Francis Galton (London: Cambridge University Press). 23 pp. Questions of the Day and of the Fray number 11.
Pearson, Karl. 1923. Charles Darwin, 1809–1882. An Appreciation. With Frontispiece Portrait and Plate of Noah’s Ark. Being a Lecture Delivered to the Teachers of the London County Council, March 21, 1923 (London: Cambridge University Press). 27 pp. Questions of the Day and of the Fray number 12.
Notes
[i] Galton Laboratory, Questions of the Day and of the Fray: The Francis Galton Laboratory for National Eugenics (New York, NY/London: Garland, 1984).