Donald A. Swan (28 March 1935 – June 1981) was an American anthropologist and advocate for eugenics and segregation.[1]

Early life

Donald A. Swan was born on 28 March 1935.

He got a degree from Queens College. He studied economics in graduate school at Columbia University but was expelled for stealing books from the library.[2][3] He wrote a letter in appreciation to Karl Donitz, the successor to Adolf Hitler.[3]

Career

Swan was an assistant professor at the University of Southern Mississippi.[4] He was a co-founder in 1959 of the International Association for the Advancement of Ethnology and Eugenics (IAAEE), serving as treasurer and corresponding secretary, and he was involved in the Northern League.[2][5][3] He was involved in the IAAEE's attempts to overturn Brown v. Board of Education.[3] In the 1950s he contributed articles to The Truth Seeker purporting genetic differences based on early 20th century IQ studies and Nazi anthropology.[5] He made speeches using the pseudonym Thor Swenson.[5] He was a defender of the German eugenicist Hans F. K. Günther.[5]

In 1966, Swan was arrested on mail-fraud charges. During the raid on Swan's apartment in Queens, New York, the police found Nazi memorabilia, weapons and ammunition.[4] A book by George Lincoln Rockwell of the American Nazi Party was also found, as well as a photograph depicting Swan with American Nazi Party members.[6]

Death and legacy

Swan died in June 1981. After his death, Swan's papers were purchased and donated to Roger Pearson at the Institute for the Study of Man, under a Pioneer Fund grant of $59,000.[4][7]

References

  1. ^ Jackson, John P. Jr. (17 March 2022). Science for Segregation. doi:10.18574/nyu/9780814743263.001.0001. ISBN 9780814743263. S2CID 250036686.
  2. ^ a b Winston, Andrew A. (1998). "Science in the service of the far right: Henry E. Garrett, the IAAEE, and the Liberty Lobby". Journal of Social Issues. 54 (1): 179–210. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1998.tb01212.x.
  3. ^ a b c d Jackson Jr., John P. Science for Segregation: Race, Law, and the Case Against Brown V. Board of Education. United States, NYU Press, 2005.
  4. ^ a b c Miller, Adam (1994). "The Pioneer Fund: Bankrolling the Professors of Hate". The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. 6 (6): 58–61. doi:10.2307/2962466. JSTOR 2962466.
  5. ^ a b c d Cassata, Francesco (2011). Building the New Man : Eugenics, racial science and genetics in twentieth-century Italy. Erin O'Loughlin. Budapest: Central European University Press. ISBN 978-1-4619-0316-1. OCLC 753968461.
  6. ^ David Anderson (6 April 1966). "Mail-fraid Raided bares Nazi Cache". The New York Times.
  7. ^ Jack Anderson; Dale Van Atta (16 November 1989). "Pioneer Fund's Controversial Projects". The Washington Post.


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