Perspective
Nature Reviews Genetics 5, 475-479 (June 2004) | doi:10.1038/nrg1352
Timeline: A nineteenth-century experiment in human selective breeding
Martin Richards1 About the author
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Abstract
A human selective breeding programme took place in a North American bible communist community, Oneida, between 1869 and 1879. It was probably the first such breeding experiment of the modern era, and for this reason, we might expect it to have been influential for the subsequent eugenics movements. Although it attracted much attention in its day, its longer-term influence seems to have been surprisingly slight, largely because its specific context meant that it was not a model that provided an acceptable way to reach eugenics goals.
Author affiliations
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Centre for Family Research, University of Cambridge, Free School Lane, Cambridge CB2 3RF, UK.
Email: mpmr@cam.ac.uk