Galton

American

[gawl-tn] / ˈgɔl tn /

noun

Sir Francis, 1822–1911, English scientist and writer.

Galton British

/ ˈɡɔːltən /

noun

Sir Francis. 1822–1911, English explorer and scientist, a cousin of Charles Darwin, noted for his researches in heredity, meteorology, and statistics. He founded the study of eugenics and the theory of anticyclones

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Galtonian

adjective

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Galton was largely self-educated, an odd man who studied fingerprints and claimed to have proved through testing that praying doesn’t help matters.

From Slate • Mar. 19, 2026

It’s a term coined by Charles Darwin’s cousin Francis Galton in 1883, though understanding the structure of the human genome came much later.

From Slate • Mar. 19, 2026

The term “eugenics” was coined in 1883 by Francis Galton, who aimed to apply the findings of his cousin, Charles Darwin, to better society.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 9, 2025

While she stresses how supportive both her team-mates and the club are, there is one tight-knit band she is particularly close to - her fellow 'Lego Club' members Jess Simpson, Leah Galton and Rachel Williams.

From BBC • Jun. 27, 2025

Galton had been unable to discover genes, but he would not miss out on the creation of genetic technologies.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023