The term was popularized by the German scientist Johann Friedrich Blumenbach, who in 1795 divided the human species into five races:

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Caucasian, the “white” race;

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Ethiopian, the “black” race;

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American, the “red” race.

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Mongolian, the “yellow” race; &

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Malayan, the “brown” race;

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He considered the Caucasians to be the first race on Earth, consistent with the common conception of the Caucasus as a place of human origin.