Robert DeCourcy Ward

Robert DeCourcy Ward
Born(1867-11-29)November 29, 1867
Boston, Massachusetts
DiedNovember 12, 1931 (1931-11-13) (aged 63)
Cambridge, Massachusetts
NationalityAmerican
EducationA.B., A.M.
Alma materHarvard University
Occupation(s)Climatologist, writer, educator
Spouse
Emma Lane
(m. 1897)
ChildrenHenry DeCourcy
Robert Saltonstall
Anna Saltonstall
Emma Lane

Robert DeCourcy Ward (November 29, 1867 – November 12, 1931) was an American climatologist, author, educator and leading eugenics and immigration reform advocate in the early 20th Century. He became the first ever professor of climatology in the United States and made contributions to the study of the climate. His advocacy for immigration reform and eugenics led him to co-found the Immigration Restriction League which was instrumental in the passage of the Immigration Act of 1924 which reduced Jewish and Italian immigration to the U.S. by over 95% and completely barred Asian immigration until 1952.[1]

  1. ^ Harvard’s Eugenics Era: When academics embraced scientific racism, immigration restrictions, and the suppression of “the unfit”, by Adam S. Cohen, Harvard Magazine

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