Pearson K

NAME:

Pearson, Karl

ACHIEVEMENTS: Statistics

NICKNAME/ALIAS:

None

DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH:

27 March 1857, London, UK

DATE AND PLACE OF DEATH AND AGE AT DEATH:

27 April 1936, London, UK. Aged 79

DISCIPLINE:

Mathematician

FIELD:

Statistics

LANGUAGE:

English

PARENTS:

Father: William Pearson

Mother: Fanny Smith

SIBLINGS:

1 brother: ?name

1 sister: ? name

SPOUSE:

1. Maria Sharpe
2. Margaret Child

CHILDREN:

by Sharpe:

1 son: Egon

2 daughters: Sigrid, Helga

EDUCATION:

University College School, London

King's College, Cambridge

University of Heidelberg

University of Berlin

Inner Temple law school, London

MAJOR WORK:

"The Grammar of Science" (1892)

"Mathematical Contributions to the Theory of Evolution" (1893-1912)

LIFE AND TIMES:

Pearson, the son of a lawyer, studied mathematics at Cambridge under <taught by> Maxwell* and <taught by> Stokes*, and at Berlin University he attended lectures on evolutionary biology given by the physiologist Emil  <taught by> DuBois-Reymond*.  He also studied metaphysics, medieval literature and history and in Germany he had come across the ideas of  <influenced by> Karl Marx*.

By the time he returned to England he was a committed evolutionist and a socialist.  Pearson's first publications were a novel ("The New Werther", 1880) and a passion play ("The Trinity", 1882). Both attacked Christian orthodoxy and were published anonymously.

While studying for the law, Pearson lectured at working men's clubs on Marx and socialism, and gave public lectures on Martin Luther and German history. He also assisted at London University, lecturing on heat and teaching mathematics.  Although he qualified as a lawyer in 1882,  in1884 he became professor of applied mathematics and mechanics at University College, London.

In between lecturing on statics, dynamic and mechanics, and editing scientific books, Pearson also taught ethics, conducted historical studies and was involved in socialist activities.

In 1885, for example, he was a founding member of the “men's and women's club"  which discussed the relationship between the sexes.  Pearson gave the inaugural address on "The Woman's Question" and later married a member of the club.

From 1891 he also took on the chair of geometry at Gresham College where he gave the public lectures which resulted in his most popular book, "The Grammar of Science" (1892). The book had an enormous influence on the generation of scientists who followed Pearson and is recognised as a classic in the philosophy of science.

Dubois-Reymond had taught him that metaphysics and science should be kept separate and in his book Pearson emphasized that scientists should concentrate on the question "how" rather than asking "why". He restated the Newtonian laws of motion in accordance with his own belief in the relativity of all motion, and he developed a system of mechanics based on his conclusions,  arguing that material objects were concepts which we use to describe our sense impressions.

JBS Haldane said later that Pearson's development of this argument made him one of the founders of logical positivism.

At Gresham, Pearson conducted classes on the mathematical theory of probability and when he read "Natural Inheritance" by <influenced by> Galton*  he became interested in applying statistics to questions of heredity and evolution.

He also met WFR Weldon, who was professor of zoology at University College, London. Weldon had already been working on a way to support Darwin's theory of natural selection with hard evidence but had become stuck on the mathematical presentation of data. He asked Pearson for help and Pearson set out to apply mathematical measurement to <used math on theory of> Charles Darwin's* concept of natural selection.

Pearson had always been keen on graphical methods of representing distributions and in 1891-2 he gave a series of Gresham lectures on the "Geometry of Statistics" in which he

developed a system of graphical representation of statistical data from the biological, physical and social sciences. Between 1893-1912 he published a series of papers on "Mathematical Contributions to The Theory of Evolution".

Pearson invented new methods of statistical application which proved to be powerful

tools for scientific research. His laboratory became the centre of biometric research and publication. In 1901, he was one of the founders of  "Biometrika", a journal for the statistical study of biological problems.

Over the next five years, he published a vast number of papers on statistical theory and its applications. From 1906 Pearson focussed more of his attention on eugenics. Galton handed over control of his eugenics record office to Pearson in the same year. In 1907 Pearson was made head of the department of applied mathematics and over the next few years he set up a postgraduate centre for statistical research and worked to establish statistics as an independent discipline.

Largely due to Pearson's energy and determination, statistical laboratories were set up in universities, government departments and by industrial concerns. In 1911 he became the first Galton Professor of Eugenics and head of a new department of applied statistics which during World War I (1914-18) was heavily involved in government work. From 1914-1934, under his direction a series of mathematical tables were compiled on which the subsequent development of statistics was mostly based.

In 1933 Pearson retired.  He continued to research and publish until his death.

ASSESSMENT: One of the first to attempt to apply a mathematical theory to biological questions. His contributions to methodology provided the basis for  the application of statistics in scientific research and he is recognised as one of the founders of modern statistics.

EXTRA CONNECTIONS: None

ONELINER: Karl Pearson, first Professor of Eugenics

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Dictionary of National Biography

Encyclopedia Britannica

Dictionary of Scientific Biography

Haldane, JBS, in ‘Karl Pearson, Centenary Celebration,’ Biometrika Trustees, London 1958