| AdminHistory | Geoffrey Miles Morant was born in London in 1899. Following service in the Army during WWI, he studied statistics under Karl Pearson at UCL in the Department of Applied Statistics which had been founded in 1911. He was among the first cohort to receive a BSc in Statistics in 1921 and received his MSc in Applied Statistics in 1922. He spent the time between 1920 and 1926 carrying out research into crania and 'racial types' at the Biometric Laboratory within the Department and at other institutions in Europe. He received a DSc on the strength of this research in 1926 and soon afterwards was appointed to a lectureship at the Department of Applied Statistics.
Morant's primary contribution to cranial research during this time was his collection and publication (primarily in Biometrika) of data sets, comprised of measurements of skulls using Pearson's Coefficient of Racial Likeness (CRL). His special research interests were 'prehistoric' racial types worldwide, using skeletal remains from archeaological finds to trace patterns of settlement, mixing and migration. His focus on historic and pre-historic groups rather than living populations brought him into conflict with R A Fisher, who took over management of Morant's department after Karl Pearson's retirement in 1933 and favoured research with a practical application.
In the 1930s, Morant was part of a group of anthropologists concerned with disproving and discrediting Nazi racial theories. He was a member of the British Royal Anthropological Institute's Race and Culture Committee which aimed to formulate a response to Nazi policies but was unable to reach a united resolution. Morant's contribution to the Committee's final report was published in the journal MAN as "A Biometrician's View of Race in Man" (vol. 34, 1934). In this he argued that statistical investigation and biometry could demonstrate the existence of race, whilst also proving that there is more differentiation between individuals within the same racial group than between different racial groups, making Nazi eugenic ideas of racial purity a fallacy. In 1939, still seeking to discredit Nazi theories of race and aimed at a non-specialist audience, he published "The Races of Central Europe: A Footnote to History" (London: Allen & Unwin, 1939), making use of biometric data sets to disprove assertions that had been made about various European races.
Post-WWII he was involved in the UNESCO anti-racist movement and the compilation of the first and second UNESCO 'Statement on Race' but unlike some of the other contributors he did not reject the concept of race and the possibility of measurable differences both within and between different groups. Instead, he took the position that "One group may be outstanding for one character and one for another, and all groups are unexceptional in most respects. Group diversity of such a kind tends to equalize all peoples when a final summing up is made for all characters. Variety among populations would be a boon to humanity if all had good opportunities to develop their potentialities." (G. M. Morant, The Significance of Racial Differences (Paris: UNESCO, 1952)).
Following a post-war reorganisation at UCL, Morant left the university and took up a post at the RAF Institute of Aviation Medicine in 1946. His research here was practical, using data to assist with the design and function of equipment and clothing for service personnel.
A typescript CV (likely written by a family member) lists Geoffrey Morant's interests as "Camping, walking; United Nations Association; Oxfam; Society of Friends; Liberal Party". He died on the 3rd July 1964, survived by his wife, Mary and his children Martin and Joan. |
| CustodialHistory | Donated by the Morant family in 2025. |