Samuel George Morton (1799-1851) was a prominent figure in the field of physical anthropology and a pioneering American scientist of the 19th century. Born in Philadelphia, Morton studied medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and obtained his degree in 1820. He gained notoriety for his work on human skulls, which led him to develop the science of craniometry, wherein he believed that the measurement of skulls could yield insights into racial differences and intelligence. Morton is best known for his work 'Crania Americana', published in 1839, and 'Crania Ægyptiaca', in which he analyzed ancient Egyptian skulls with an aim to categorize human races and justify his theories on racial hierarchy. His methodology and conclusions, however, were deeply flawed by bias and have since been debunked. Despite that, his influence on the then-emerging field of anthropology was considerable, and his works were referenced by contemporaries and succeeding scholars. Morton's literary style, reflective of his scholarly demeanor, was meticulous and descriptive, often detailing his scientific observations with precise measurements and comparative analyses. Nonetheless, modern scholars critique Morton for his role in perpetuating the pseudoscientific justifications for racism through his writings on polygenism and craniometry. Morton's legacy is therefore controversial, with his lifetime of work now largely considered as a historical example of scientific racism.
