Adoption is the legal acquisition of a child not one's own by birth.
Forms of adoption have appeared throughout history. The practice of adoption in ancient Rome, for example, is well documented in the Codex Justinianus.
In ancient Greece and Rome, adoption served important estate-perpetuation purposes for citizens who otherwise would have had no male heir. Trajan became emperor of Rome through adoption by the previous childless emperor Nerva, and was in turn succeeded by his own adopted son Hadrian.
Boso. King of Provence (c. 879 – January 11, 887) is said to have cut off his hair and given it to Pope John VIII as a sign that the latter had adopted him.
In the United States it has been necessary for individual states to pass specific legislation to permit adoption. The first state to do so was Massachusetts, in 1851.
In the years during and after the American Civil War, the care of foundling infants became an increasingly serious problem in New York City. Abandoned infants were routinely sent to almshouses with the sick and insane. An American nun, Sister Irene (May 12, 1823 – August 14, 1896), was chosen to organize and direct a home for foundlings. In October 1869 the Foundling Asylum (later the New York Foundling Hospital) opened and babies could be left anonymously in a receiving crib with no questions asked. Forced to evolve her own methods of dealing with foundlings and unwed mothers, Sister Irene initiated a program of placing children in foster homes whenever possible, with provision for legal adoption when desired. She is recognised as one of the pioneers of modern adoption, establishing a system to board out children rather than institutionalize them.
Nazis abducted 200,000 Polish children claiming some were the descendants of Germans that had emigrated to Poland. Those evaluated as "Aryan-looking” were adopted by German families; some grew up believing they were German. Only 20% are estimated to have reunited with their families post-war.
Josephine Baker tried to combat racism by adopting 12 children from different countries, ranging from Finland to Venezuela. The singer and dancer installed what she called her "Rainbow Tribe" in a 15th-century chateau in the South of France and dressed the children up in strong national, ethnic, and religious identities. Baker charged admission to tourists who came to hear them sing, to tour their home, or to watch them play leapfrog in their garden.
Georgia Tann was a child trafficker who arranged expensive adoptions with the wealthy, including Hollywood stars like Joan Crawford (twin daughters, Cathy and Cynthia were adopted through the Memphis-based agency she ran). She deceived birth parents by taking babies for medical care and later saying they died. The police did nothing because her victims were poor, In 1950 a state investigation into numerous instances of adoption fraud being perpetrated by Tann closed her institution. Tann died of cancer on September 15, 1950 before the investigation made its findings public.
Other notable personalities who used Tann's services included June Allyson and husband Dick Powell , as did the adoptive parents of professional wrestling legend, The ‘Nature Boy’ Ric Flair.
In the 1950s and 1960s the American government forcibly removed Native American children from their parents and put them up for adoption or into institutions, in order to have them assimilate into "white culture."
The first ever Cabbage Patch Dolls arrived in the United Kingdom in 1983, each complete with their own "adoption papers".
At least 65,500 adopted children, over 4% of all adopted children in America, have lesbian, gay, or bi parents.
A group of sperm whales adopted a bottlenose dolphin with a spinal deformation, after it was lost from its own dolphin group.
Forms of adoption have appeared throughout history. The practice of adoption in ancient Rome, for example, is well documented in the Codex Justinianus.
In ancient Greece and Rome, adoption served important estate-perpetuation purposes for citizens who otherwise would have had no male heir. Trajan became emperor of Rome through adoption by the previous childless emperor Nerva, and was in turn succeeded by his own adopted son Hadrian.
Boso. King of Provence (c. 879 – January 11, 887) is said to have cut off his hair and given it to Pope John VIII as a sign that the latter had adopted him.
In the United States it has been necessary for individual states to pass specific legislation to permit adoption. The first state to do so was Massachusetts, in 1851.
In the years during and after the American Civil War, the care of foundling infants became an increasingly serious problem in New York City. Abandoned infants were routinely sent to almshouses with the sick and insane. An American nun, Sister Irene (May 12, 1823 – August 14, 1896), was chosen to organize and direct a home for foundlings. In October 1869 the Foundling Asylum (later the New York Foundling Hospital) opened and babies could be left anonymously in a receiving crib with no questions asked. Forced to evolve her own methods of dealing with foundlings and unwed mothers, Sister Irene initiated a program of placing children in foster homes whenever possible, with provision for legal adoption when desired. She is recognised as one of the pioneers of modern adoption, establishing a system to board out children rather than institutionalize them.
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| Sister Irene of New York Foundling Hospital with children. |
Nazis abducted 200,000 Polish children claiming some were the descendants of Germans that had emigrated to Poland. Those evaluated as "Aryan-looking” were adopted by German families; some grew up believing they were German. Only 20% are estimated to have reunited with their families post-war.
Josephine Baker tried to combat racism by adopting 12 children from different countries, ranging from Finland to Venezuela. The singer and dancer installed what she called her "Rainbow Tribe" in a 15th-century chateau in the South of France and dressed the children up in strong national, ethnic, and religious identities. Baker charged admission to tourists who came to hear them sing, to tour their home, or to watch them play leapfrog in their garden.
Georgia Tann was a child trafficker who arranged expensive adoptions with the wealthy, including Hollywood stars like Joan Crawford (twin daughters, Cathy and Cynthia were adopted through the Memphis-based agency she ran). She deceived birth parents by taking babies for medical care and later saying they died. The police did nothing because her victims were poor, In 1950 a state investigation into numerous instances of adoption fraud being perpetrated by Tann closed her institution. Tann died of cancer on September 15, 1950 before the investigation made its findings public.
Other notable personalities who used Tann's services included June Allyson and husband Dick Powell , as did the adoptive parents of professional wrestling legend, The ‘Nature Boy’ Ric Flair.
In the 1950s and 1960s the American government forcibly removed Native American children from their parents and put them up for adoption or into institutions, in order to have them assimilate into "white culture."
The first ever Cabbage Patch Dolls arrived in the United Kingdom in 1983, each complete with their own "adoption papers".
At least 65,500 adopted children, over 4% of all adopted children in America, have lesbian, gay, or bi parents.
A group of sperm whales adopted a bottlenose dolphin with a spinal deformation, after it was lost from its own dolphin group.
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