Ruth Darwin
Encyclopedia
Ruth Frances Darwin CBE
(20 August 1883-15 October 1972) was Commissioner of the Board of Control for Lunacy and Mental Deficiency
and an advocate of eugenics
.
She was the middle child and elder daughter of Sir Horace Darwin
, through whom she was a granddaughter of the naturalist Charles Darwin
(she was born a year after his death in 1882). Her mother, Cecilia "Ida" Farrer (1854–1946), was the daughter of Thomas Farrer, 1st Baron Farrer
. Her younger sister Nora
, later became Lady Barlow, while her elder brother Erasmus was killed during the Second Battle of Ypres
in 1915.
She was awarded the CBE
in 1938. In 1948 she married the Welsh psychiatrist William Rees-Thomas
, who was a colleague of hers on the Board of Control for Lunacy and Mental Deficiency
. She died in 1972.
CBE
CBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for "Commander of the Order of the British Empire", a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:* Chemical and Biochemical Engineering...
(20 August 1883-15 October 1972) was Commissioner of the Board of Control for Lunacy and Mental Deficiency
Board of Control for Lunacy and Mental Deficiency
The Board of Control for Lunacy and Mental Deficiency was part of the United Kingdom's Ministry of Health, but was independent in that it reported to the Lord Chancellor . The Board had previously been under the responsibility of the Home Office, moving to the Ministry of Health in about 1930...
and an advocate of eugenics
Eugenics
Eugenics is the "applied science or the bio-social movement which advocates the use of practices aimed at improving the genetic composition of a population", usually referring to human populations. The origins of the concept of eugenics began with certain interpretations of Mendelian inheritance,...
.
She was the middle child and elder daughter of Sir Horace Darwin
Horace Darwin
Sir Horace Darwin, KBE, FRS , a son of the English naturalist Charles Darwin, was a civil engineer.Darwin was born in Down House in 1851, the fifth son and ninth child of the British naturalist Charles Darwin and his wife Emma, the youngest of their seven children that survived to adulthood.He was...
, through whom she was a granddaughter of the naturalist Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
(she was born a year after his death in 1882). Her mother, Cecilia "Ida" Farrer (1854–1946), was the daughter of Thomas Farrer, 1st Baron Farrer
Thomas Farrer, 1st Baron Farrer
Thomas Henry Farrer, 1st Baron Farrer was an English civil servant and statistician.Farrer was the son of Thomas Farrer, a solicitor in Lincoln's Inn Fields. Born in London, he was educated at Eton College and Balliol College, Oxford, where he graduated in 1840...
. Her younger sister Nora
Nora Barlow
Emma Nora Barlow was the granddaughter of the British naturalist Charles Darwin, who edited and published previously unseen examples of her grandfather's work.- Biography :...
, later became Lady Barlow, while her elder brother Erasmus was killed during the Second Battle of Ypres
Second Battle of Ypres
The Second Battle of Ypres was the first time Germany used poison gas on a large scale on the Western Front in the First World War and the first time a former colonial force pushed back a major European power on European soil, which occurred in the battle of St...
in 1915.
She was awarded the CBE
CBE
CBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for "Commander of the Order of the British Empire", a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:* Chemical and Biochemical Engineering...
in 1938. In 1948 she married the Welsh psychiatrist William Rees-Thomas
William Rees-Thomas
William Rees-Thomas CB MD FRCP DPM was a Welsh pyschiatrist. He was Medical Senior Commissioner for the Board of Control for Lunacy and Mental Deficiency....
, who was a colleague of hers on the Board of Control for Lunacy and Mental Deficiency
Board of Control for Lunacy and Mental Deficiency
The Board of Control for Lunacy and Mental Deficiency was part of the United Kingdom's Ministry of Health, but was independent in that it reported to the Lord Chancellor . The Board had previously been under the responsibility of the Home Office, moving to the Ministry of Health in about 1930...
. She died in 1972.