Yes. In a 1908 article for National Geographic Magazine titled A Few Thoughts Concerning Eugenics, Bell endorses the idea that society should “Throw wide the gates of marriage, and where children are produced, close tight the doors of divorce.… Read More »Did Bell Believe Parenting Had an Equal or Greater Impact on Society Than Genetics?
No. This is a completely false narrative with no basis in fact or history. No document exists connecting Bell with compulsory or voluntary sterilization.
No. Bell played an inconsequential role with the Eugenics Records Office in Cold Spring Harbor, NY. Dr. Charles B. Davenport was the Secretary of the Board of Scientific Directors and Director of the Eugenics Records Office,… Read More »Did Bell Lead the Eugenics Records Office?
No. Bell is listed in the program among the 41 members of the honorary committee of the First International Eugenics Conference held in London in 1912. However, Bell did not speak at the event nor did he attend or present a paper.… Read More »Did Bell Ever Speak at a Eugenics Conference?
Yes. Bell had an interest in the emerging science of heredity, and later genetics, as it applied to livestock. In the 1890s, Bell began three decades of observing and recording experiments in sheep breeding on his estate in… Read More »Did Bell Conduct Genetic Research?
No. In 1909, The American Breeders Association, which focused on livestock, launched a new section to study the science of heredity in human beings. This section was divided into two parts: The Eugenics Records Office, established in… Read More »Was Bell an Advocate for Genetic Research on Humans?
Yes. Bell was extremely inclusive in his views about society and believed that all adult citizens had a right to vote regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or any other restriction. In a 1901… Read More »Did Bell Believe in Universal Suffrage?
No. The controversial case Buck v. Bell, in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that laws mandating the sterilization of the mentally handicapped did not violate the Constitution, was decided in 1927. The “Bell” in Buck v.… Read More »Was Bell Connected to the U.S. Supreme Court Case of Buck V. Bell?
Yes. Bell was extremely progressive in his views about women and their role in society. In a 1901 letter from Bell to his wife Mabel, he wrote “If only the educated can vote, they not only rule… Read More »Did Bell Support Equal Rights for Women?
No. Bell was a strong and early believer in equal rights. In 1876, Bell hired draftsman Lewis Howard Latimar, the son of a former slave, to execute his drawings and assist in the preparation of patent… Read More »Did Bell Endorse Racial Segregation?