Description: The first treatment of the early development of probability and statistics since Todhunter's "History" appeared in 1865. The present book describes the contemporaneous development and interaction of probability theory (and games of chance), statistics (particularly in astronomy and demography) and life insurance mathematics. Illustrates the development of the practice by means of typical examples, giving both the original data and their analysis at the time, and adding some comments from a modern point of view. To read and enjoy this intellectual history, the reader need know but little statistics or mathematics, for the presentation is relatively self-contained. This unique book evokes the life and works of the great natural philosophers who contributed to the development of probability theory and statistics and offers fascinating background material on the history of mathematics, natural philosophy and social conditions of the eras under discussion.

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