Ivy League nude posture photos
20th-century medical photos at Ivy League schools
Summary
During the 1940s–1960s, nude photographs were routinely taken of incoming freshmen at elite colleges in the United States, such as the Ivy Leagues and Seven Sisters schools. Purportedly taken to assess the posture and health of the students, the bulk of the photographs were produced by W. H. Sheldon, a psychologist and eugenicist who believed non-white races were intellectually stunted. Sheldon developed a theory that measuring a human body could predict the subject's intelligence, temperament, and moral worth. The inspiration to take mass photos for his research came from the founder of eugenics, Francis Galton, who proposed such a photo archive for the British population.
Originally created by Richard Arthur Norton (1958- )
7/1/2006, 2:44:26 PM
Modified
5/24/2026, 2:02:31 PM
Recent revisions
fixed [[MOS:DASH|dashes]] using [[User:Ohconfucius/dashes.js]]
/* Downfall of the posture photo */
/* 1940s–1960s: Sheldon era */
/* Stolen/missing photos */
re-added top image, now with source
{{Ivy League navbox}}
copyediting
minor grammar
Remove uncited speculation and copyedit celeb photos part
Moving [[:Category:Human appearance]] to [[:Category:Human physical appearance]] per [[Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Speedy]]
Reverted edits by [[Special:Contribs/2409:4073:4E1C:73AF:BDB6:9E5E:3B25:721B|2409:4073:4E1C:73AF:BDB6:9E5E:3B25:721B]] ([[User talk:2409:4073:4E1C:73AF:BDB6:9E5E:3B25:721B|talk]]) to last version by The Anome
linking word
Removed [[wikipedia:REFPUNCT|erroneous]] space and [[wikipedia:GENFIX|general fixes]] ([[wikipedia:Bots/Requests_for_approval/SdkbBot|task 1]])
[[Wikipedia:OABOT|Open access bot]]: doi updated in citation with #oabot.
/* Cavett/Wolf exchange */ the correct name is Smithsonian Institution
