Telegony is the idea that a female will be permanently affected when she is first impregnated, since the fetus will pass back characteristics to her that will affect all future offspring, no … See more

In the 19th century, the most widely credited example was that of Lord Morton's mare, reported by the distinguished surgeon Sir Everard Home, and cited by See more

The theory of telegony has been revisited in the 21st century with new discoveries of non-genetic mechanisms.
Epigenetics and … See more

• Transgenerational epigenetic inheritance
• Maternal effect
• Microchimerism
• Racial hygiene See more

The idea of telegony goes back to Aristotle. It states that individuals can inherit traits not only from their fathers, but also from other males previously known to their mothers. In other words, it was thought that paternity could be shared.
Of a supposed See more

In mammals, each sperm has the haploid set of chromosomes and each egg has another haploid set. During the process of fertilization See more

Telegony influenced late 19th-century racialist beliefs. A woman who had a child with a non-Aryan man, it was argued, could never have a "pure" Aryan child at a later point in time. This idea was adopted by the German Nazi Party.
Telegony re … See more