19th-century medicine and The Races of Men
At the beginning of October, 1857, The Lancet published a letter by the Scottish anatomist, Robert Knox, entitled “New Theory of Race: Celt vs Saxon”. Knox was responding to the work of the Irish physician and nationalist, John M'Elheran, who wished to celebrate the contributions of those of Celtic descent to modern culture. William Shakespeare and the Duke of Wellington, M'Elheran insisted, were of the “Celtic type” and Americans were “not a hybrid Anglo-Saxon, but a pure bred Celtic race”. Knox rejected a Celtic history of America, using his letter to offer up egregiously long qu...
Source: thelancet.com