The Eugenics Society archives in the Contemporary Medical Archives Centre.

The Eugenics Society's archives were among the earliest collections acquired by the Contemporary Medical Archives Centre, in February 1980, just over a year after its inauguration. At that time the collection consisted only of correspondence and other files, the minutes and press-cuttings books being retained by the Society and consultable there by appointment with the General Secretary. In spite of this considerable lacuna, the Eugenics Society's archive has consistently proved the most heavily consulted of all the collections in the CMAC, attracting a large number of readers, many of whom return year by year, pursuing a wide variety of research interests.' In 1988, on the Society's move from 69 Eccleston Square near Victoria Station to smaller premises less centrally located, the remaining archives-minutes (excluding certain volumes of council minutes), press-cutting books, some financial records, various odd items discovered while clearing out the Society's premises, and records of bodies closely associated with the Society-were transferred to the CMAC. This meant that the collection became even stronger, particularly respecting the earlier, pre-1920, years of the Society's existence, for which few files had survived. The Society was founded in 1907 as the Eugenics Education Society (the name was changed in 1926) with Sir Francis Galton as Honorary President: he was the coiner of the word "eugenics", as well as Charles Darwin's cousin. Unlike the Galton Laboratory, founded in 1904 and also inspired by Galton's ideas, the Eugenics Education Society was a popular rather than a scientific institution. Its initial aims and objects were as follows: