Download presentation
Presentation is loading. Please wait.
Published byHilda Tucker Modified over 9 years ago
1
THE GENIUS FACTORY MARIAH UMHOEFER
2
THE REPOSITORY FOR GERMINAL CHOICE A.k.a: The Nobel Sperm Bank Founded by Robert Graham Escondido, California Opened in 1980, closed in 1999 Radical, controversial experiment
3
GOALS OF THE NOBEL SPERM BANK Create new generations of healthy, intelligent humans Reduce significance of genetic diseases Track the children’s lives Solve the nature v.s nurture debate Save humanity
4
DAVID PLOTZ “The Genius Babies and How They Grew” article- Slate 2001 Published “The Genius Factory” in 2005 Interviewed over 24 families Self-proclaimed semen detective
5
HISTORY OF EUGENICS Eugenics= well born Late 19 th century in U.S and Britian Overpopulation, Darwinism, and racial paranoia Negative Eugenics Positive Eugenics
6
SOCIAL DARWINISM Survival of the fittest applied to mankind Thomas Mathus Francis Galton- Father of Eugenics “Hereditary Genius”- 1869
7
U.S RACIAL TENSION & PARANOIA Threats of immigration Supporters: upper/middle class white Americans Germany and American Eugenics
8
EUGENIC STERILIZATION 1910: Charles Davenport Eugenics Record Office in Cold Springs Harbor, Long Island Laws put in place against ‘mental defectives’ Eugenic sterilization of the unfit By 1917, fifteen states legalized sterilization of the unfit By the 1930s, over 35,000 Americans were sterilized Another 25,000 were sterilized before the 1960s
9
POSITIVE EUGENICS TAKE OVER- MAYBE? “Daedalus” written by J.B.S Haldane, 1923. Dr. Addison David Hard & William Pancoat The first artificial insemination: 1909
10
AID: ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION BY DONOR Outrage, disbelief Immoral, against god and nature Silent tolerance Quiet spread of AID
11
FROZEN SPERM! 1949: scientists discover how to freeze sperm 1950’s and 1960s: scientists perfect the freezing process AID trend & business AID at home
12
HOUSING THE SPERM Hermann Muller One of america’s first outstanding geneticists Nobel Prize in medicine Hermann Muller & Robert Graham Future of Man Plan the first sperm bank Difference in ideals Hermann Muller dies in 1967
13
ROBERT K. GRAHAM Born June 9 th, 1906 in Harbor Springs, Michigan Studied optometry at Ohio State Had 8 children, from 3 different wives, and 1 out of wedlock
14
ROBERT GRAHAM’S INSPIRATION Makes $100 million by inventing shatterproof glasses “The Future of Man”- 1971
15
ROBERT GRAHAM’S (RACIST?) INSPIRATION Disgust for the lower class Blamed social welfare programs for societal decline Emotional racism v.s Scientific racism? “save mankind from a genetic catastrophe, retrograde humans are swamping out the intelligent minority” –Robert Graham
16
OPEN FOR BUSINESS Goal: find donors with a Nobel Prize in science 3 Nobel sperm donors by 1980 All donors kept confidential Robert Graham in his Repository
17
WILLIAM SHOCKLEY Born in 1910 Only child of a wealthy engineer & ambitious mother Physicist Received the highest civilian award from the Navy Silicon Valley 1956: Awarded a Nobel Prize in Physics for inventing the transistor William Shockley
18
SHOCKLEY’S REPUTATION Graham admired Shockley, funded his research Research became racially based Reputation decline 1960s-1970s “I would think that it would be quite likely that there was some significant amount of elimination of genetic diseases [in Nazi Germany]. Just as the autobahns were a good thing, maybe there were some other good things about Hitler.” –William Shockley
19
WILLIAM SHOCKLEY & THE NOBEL SPERM BANK 1 st to donate a sample in 1977, and again in 1978 February 29 th,1980: Public debut of the Repository for Germinal Choice William Shockley in the public eye Graham’s biggest liability
20
CHANGES TO THE REPOSITORY End all association with William Shockley No Nobel sperm, no Nobel babies Search for tall, handsome, intelligent men 1982: Good sperm, but no pregnancies
21
1 ST BABY IS BORN! – VICTORIA KOWALSKI Born April 1982 to Joyce and Jack Kowalski Destined to be a genius Kowalski parents controversy
22
2 ND BABY IS BORN! – DORON BLAKE Born in August of 1982 to mother Afton Blake “Genius baby”: using computers, playing chess, learning algebra and Einstein’s theory of relativity Robert Graham’s shining star Doron BlakeDoron & Afton Blake
23
MORE BABIES! Women want genius sperm Mid 1980s: Dozen of babies were born each year Robert Graham dies 2 years before Repository closes Over 200 children born by the time the Repository closed in 1999. Mystery of the genius babies
24
INVESTIGATING “THE GENIUS FACTORY”: DONORS David Plotz: lead ‘detective’, author of “The Genius Factory” Donor Coral: Jeremy Sampson Father of Tom Legare & Alton Grant Fathered an estimated 30 children Michael: Donor & natural-born son of Nobelist Extreme narcissism in donors?
25
INVESTIGATING “THE GENIUS FACTORY”: DONORS Rationalists v.s Egotists Donor White: Roger
26
FLAWS OF THE REPOSITORY FOR GERMINAL CHOICE Donor Records & tracking the children’s lives Older donors=higher risks Genius sperm is a rip off Genetic Expectations Nature vs. Nurture, the forever unsolved mystery Family Disparities, absent father
27
IMPACTS OF THE REPOSITORY FOR GERMINAL CHOICE Brought over 200 children into the world! Transformed how we think about babies Turned sperm banks into a business
28
SPERM BANKS TODAY Basically all sperm banks are genius sperm banks today Lesbians
29
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS Do you think Robert Graham, founder of the Nobel Sperm Bank, was truly a racist, or just a product of his time in history? Do you think the outcome/reputation of the Nobel Sperm Bank would be different if William Shockley, and the other controversies, weren’t associated with it? If you were unable to have children, would you consider applying to the Nobel Sperm bank? (assuming it is the 1980s, not today)
Similar presentations
© 2025 SlidePlayer.com Inc.
All rights reserved.