The Origins of Anthropometric History

I knew nothing of anthropometry—not even the meaning of the word—when, in 1977, Robert Fogel invited me to give a seminar at Harvard. Over lunch after quite a grueling occasion, he asked me if I would be interested in taking part in a project to investigate the long-term decline in mortality in the United States. As he pointed out, the vast majority of migrants to the American colonies and the United States in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries came from Great Britain and Ireland; it was important, in explaining their subsequent mortality experience, to be able to assess their state of health before they arrived in North America. Their heights and those of the British population as a whole might, he suggested, provide evidence for such an assessment. I was flattered to be asked to work with one of the leaders of the economic history profession, intrigued by the project—if initially skeptical about the use of height data—and, by the end of a long lunch, enthusiastic about working with Fogel and his collaborator, Stan Engerman, whom I had known for some years

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• The association between male height and lifespan in rural Spain, birth cohorts 1835-1939

  Open Access•Francisco J Marco-Gracia, Javier Puche•Economics & Human Biology•2021

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• Socio-Economic Determinants and Spatial Convergence of Biological Well-Being

  Open Access•Adolfo Meisel-Roca, María Teresa Ramírez-Giraldo et al.•Revista de Historia Económica /…•2019

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• Height, Health and History

  Open Access•Roderick Floud, Kenneth W Wachter et al.•Height, Health and History•1990

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• Health and Welfare during Industrialization

  Richard H Steckel, Roderick Floud•Health and Welfare During…•1997

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• The Backbone of History

  Open Access•Richard H Steckel, Jerome C Rose•Backbone of History•2002

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• Poverty and Physical Stature

  Open Access•Roderick Floud, Kenneth W Wachter•Social Science History•1982

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• Height and Health in the United Kingdom 1815–1860

  Open Access•Joel Mokyr, Cormac Ó Gráda•Explorations in Economic History•1996

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• The living standards of women during the industrial revolution, 1795-1820

  Stephen Nichola, Stephen Nicholas et al.•The Economic History Review•1993

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• Male and female living standards in England and Wales, 1812-1867

  Paul Johnson, Stephen Nichola et al.•The Economic History Review•1995

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• Male and female living standards in England and Wales, 1812-1867

  Open Access•Paul Johnson, Stephen Nichola et al.•The Economic History Review•1995

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• The Biological Standard of Living on Three Continents

  Stanley L Engerman, John Komlos•The Journal of Interdisciplinary…•1996

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• The Economic History of Britain since 1700

  Open Access•Selwyn Cornish, Roderick Floud et al.•Labour History•1984

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