Medical heredity : distinguished children of physicians (United States, to 1910) / by William Browning ; with an introduction by Charles B. Davenport.

  • Browning, William, 1855-1941.
Date:
1925
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Credit: Medical heredity : distinguished children of physicians (United States, to 1910) / by William Browning ; with an introduction by Charles B. Davenport. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    199/270 (page 183)
    PREFERENCES OF WOMEN 183 dans living at these periods, it is evident that late progeny is not more frequent than formerly. This is again the more strik¬ ing in view of the supposedly greater frequency of late mar¬ riages. The significance of this will be variously interpreted. Some may regard it as simply evidence that younger men are now more prominent. It looks as though younger stock was now being drawn on ; and, viewed as a mass phenomenon, faintly suggests a draft on racial reserves. A better explanation may be afforded by the growing power of social customs which oppose the union of older men with still capable women. The Preferences of Women Daughters in the past have been attracted to certain special lines, or may in part have found therein a freer field. The largest number have indulged successfully in authorship. They are prominent in the Fine Arts (44 of 135), in Philanthrophy-Hu- manics (25 of 100), in Education (19 in 180), as Librarians (4 of 24), and in Literature (78 of 149), in which last they exceed the males (v. that section). Other classes show occasional women representatives, to a total of 210. Their participation materially affects the numerical ratio in the favorite fields. At the present time, as women are more actively seeking careers, the showing might prove somewhat different. Quite in harmony with the above is the fact that of the 94 authors sketched by Griswold in The Female Poets of America (1860), an even dozen were daughters of physicians, and six more married physicians. Which Child in the Family Has the Best Chance? The facts presented have little bearing on this question. Neither is there any certain rule. Either child, where there are several, may gain prominence. The Fine Arts The human form, familiarity with anatomy in the outline, is one of the fundamentals in art. The considerable proportion of sculptors in the list is not accidental but a natural sequence. That medical study and life have a tendency to develop artistic inclinations is often noted. Practical considerations and physical limitations are sufficient inhibitors in most cases. The usual the