Second International Eugenics Congress

Legacies of Eugenics project

The second International Eugenics Congress was held at the American Museum of Natural History, 22-28 September 1921. Preparatory material included a programme (1921) and abstracts (1921), distributed in advance of the meeting. Afterwards, the Congress published papers in two volumes (1923) and one exhibition catalogue (1923). The most complete archives for the second Congress are held at the Research Library of the American Museum of Natural History.

Henry Osborn (1921) The Hall of the Age of Man. Visitor's GuideDuring the second Congress, the AMNH also promoted one of its existing permanent exhibitions, The Hall of the Age of Man (1911-1965/6). An exhibition guide is available. The best archive for further research about the Hall of the Age of Man is located in the Research Library at AMNH. Osborn, this exhibition, and the politics of race have been written about extensively by historians of science, including Rainger (1991) and Regal (2002). The 1921 visitor’s guide for the Hall of the Age of Man is available through AMNH.

The first International Eugenics Congress was held at University of London, 24-30 July 1912. It produced two volumes of proceedings (volume 1 published papers in advance of the meeting; volume 2 published proceedings, including notes on discussions) and one exhibition catalogue.

References

Davenport, C., Osborn, H. F., Wissler, C., & Laughlin, H. (Eds.). (1923). Eugenics, genetics and the family. Volume 1. Scientific papers of the second International Congress of Eugenics held at American Museum of Natural History, New York, September 22-28, 1921. Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins Company.

Davenport, C., Osborn, H. F., Wissler, C., & Laughlin, H. (Eds.). (1923). Eugenics in Race and State. Volume 2. Scientific papers of the second International Congress of Eugenics held at American Museum of Natural History, New York, September 22-28, 1921. Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins Company.

Laughlin, H. H. (1923). The second International Exhibition of Eugenics held September 22 to October 22, 1921 : in connection with the Second International Congress of Eugenics in the American Museum of Natural History, New York : an account of the organization of the exhibition, the classification of the exhibits, the list of exhibitors, and a catalog and description of the exhibits. Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins Company.

Rainger, R. (1991). An Agenda for Antiquity: Henry Fairfield Osborn and Vertebrate Paleontology at the American Museum of Natural History, 1890-1935. Tuscaloosa and London: University of Alabama Press.

Regal, B. (2002). Henry Fairfield Osborn: Race and the Search for the Origins of Man. Aldershot: Ashgate.