Karl Pearson
(; born Carl Pearson; 27 March 1857 – 27 April 1936
) was an English
mathematician
A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems.
Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change.
History
On ...
and
biostatistician. He has been credited with establishing the discipline of
mathematical statistics
Mathematical statistics is the application of probability theory, a branch of mathematics, to statistics, as opposed to techniques for collecting statistical data. Specific mathematical techniques which are used for this include mathematical an ...
.
He founded the world's first university statistics department at
University College, London
, mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £143 million (2020)
, budget = Â ...
in 1911, and contributed significantly to the field of
biometrics
Biometrics are body measurements and calculations related to human characteristics. Biometric authentication (or realistic authentication) is used in computer science as a form of identification and access control. It is also used to identify in ...
and
meteorology
Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not ...
. Pearson was also a proponent of
social Darwinism
Social Darwinism refers to various theories and societal practices that purport to apply biological concepts of natural selection and survival of the fittest to sociology, economics and politics, and which were largely defined by scholars in We ...
,
eugenics
Eugenics ( ; ) is a fringe set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter human gene pools by excluding people and groups judged to be inferior or ...
and
scientific racism
Scientific racism, sometimes termed biological racism, is the pseudoscience, pseudoscientific belief that empirical evidence exists to support or justify racism (racial discrimination), racial inferiority, or racial superiority.. "Few tragedies ...
. Pearson was a protégé and biographer of
Sir Francis Galton
Sir Francis Galton, FRS FRAI (; 16 February 1822 – 17 January 1911), was an English Victorian era polymath: a statistician, sociologist, psychologist, anthropologist, tropical explorer, geographer, inventor, meteorologist, prot ...
. He edited and completed both
William Kingdon Clifford's ''Common Sense of the Exact Sciences'' (1885) and
Isaac Todhunter
Isaac Todhunter FRS (23 November 1820 – 1 March 1884), was an English mathematician who is best known today for the books he wrote on mathematics and its history.
Life and work
The son of George Todhunter, a Nonconformist minister, a ...
's ''History of the Theory of Elasticity'', Vol. 1 (1886–1893) and Vol. 2 (1893), following their deaths.
Biography
Pearson was born in
Islington
Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...
, London into a
Quaker
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
family. His father was William Pearson
QC of the
Inner Temple
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...
, and his mother Fanny (née Smith), and he had two siblings, Arthur and Amy. Pearson attended
University College School
("Slowly but surely")
, established =
, closed =
, type = Public schoolIndependent day school
, religion =
, president =
, head_label = Headmaster
, head = Mark Beard
, r_head_label =
, r_hea ...
, followed by
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the city ...
in 1876 to study mathematics, graduating in 1879 as Third
Wrangler in the
Mathematical Tripos
The Mathematical Tripos is the mathematics course that is taught in the Faculty of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge. It is the oldest Tripos examined at the University.
Origin
In its classical nineteenth-century form, the tripos was ...
. He then travelled to Germany to study physics at the
University of Heidelberg
}
Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...
under
G H Quincke
Georg Hermann Quincke FRSFor HFRSE (; November 19, 1834 – January 13, 1924) was a German physicist.
Biography
Born in Frankfurt-on-Oder, Quincke was the son of prominent physician ''Geheimer Medicinal-Rath'' Hermann Quincke and the older br ...
and metaphysics under
Kuno Fischer
Ernst Kuno Berthold Fischer (23 July 1824 – 5 July 1907) was a German philosopher, a historian of philosophy and a critic.
Biography
After studying philosophy at Leipzig and Halle,
became a privatdocent at Heidelberg in 1850. The Baden gover ...
. He next visited the
University of Berlin
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...
, where he attended the lectures of the physiologist
Emil du Bois-Reymond
Emil Heinrich du Bois-Reymond (7 November 181826 December 1896) was a German physician and physiologist, the co-discoverer of nerve action potential, and the developer of experimental electrophysiology.
Life
Du Bois-Reymond was born in Berlin a ...
on
Darwinism
Darwinism is a scientific theory, theory of Biology, biological evolution developed by the English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882) and others, stating that all species of organisms arise and develop through the natural selection of smal ...
(Emil was a brother of
Paul du Bois-Reymond, the mathematician). Pearson also studied Roman Law, taught by
Bruns Bruns is a surname, and may refer to:
* Dmitri Bruns (1929–2020), Estonian architect and architecture theorist
* Franklin Richard Bruns Jr. (1912–1979), of Maryland
* George Bruns (1914–1983), American music composer
* Karl Bruns (fl. 1950s ...
and
Mommsen, medieval and 16th century German Literature, and Socialism. He became an accomplished historian and
Germanist
German studies is the field of humanities that researches, documents and disseminates German language and literature in both its historic and present forms. Academic departments of German studies often include classes on German culture, German hi ...
and spent much of the 1880s in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
,
Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
,
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
,
Saig bei Lenzkirch, and
Brixlegg
Brixlegg is a market town (since 1927) in the Kufstein district in the Austrian state of Tyrol. The town lies in the Lower Inn Valley and at the entrance of the Alpbachtal.
Neighbouring municipalities
Alpbach, Kramsach, Radfeld, Rattenberg, ...
. He wrote on
Passion plays, religion,
Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treat ...
,
Werther
''Werther'' is an opera (''drame lyrique'') in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Édouard Blau, Paul Milliet and Georges Hartmann (who used the pseudonym Henri Grémont). It is loosely based on Goethe's epistolary novel ''The S ...
, as well as sex-related themes, and was a founder of the
Men and Women's Club
The Men and Women's Club was a debating society founded by Karl Pearson to discuss relations between the sexes, such as marriage, sexuality, friendship, and prostitution. It was composed of middle-class London radical thinkers. It was intellect ...
.
![Karl Pearson; Sir Francis Galton](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Karl_Pearson%3B_Sir_Francis_Galton.jpg)
Pearson was offered a
Germanics
The Germanic peoples were historical groups of people that once occupied Central Europe and Scandinavia during antiquity and into the early Middle Ages. Since the 19th century, they have traditionally been defined by the use of ancient and ear ...
post at
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the city ...
. Comparing Cambridge students to those he knew from Germany, Karl found German students inathletic and weak. He wrote his mother, "I used to think athletics and sport was overestimated at Cambridge, but now I think it cannot be too highly valued."
On returning to England in 1880, Pearson first went to Cambridge:
In his first book, ''The New Werther'', Pearson gives a clear indication of why he studied so many diverse subjects:
Pearson then returned to London to study law, emulating his father. Quoting Pearson's own account:
His next career move was to the
Inner Temple
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...
, where he read law until 1881 (although he never practised). After this, he returned to mathematics, deputising for the mathematics professor at
King's College, London
King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King G ...
in 1881 and for the professor at
University College, London
, mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £143 million (2020)
, budget = Â ...
in 1883. In 1884, he was appointed to the Goldsmid Chair of Applied Mathematics and Mechanics at University College, London. Pearson became the editor of ''Common Sense of the Exact Sciences'' (1885) when
William Kingdon Clifford died. 1891 saw him also appointed to the professorship of
Geometry
Geometry (; ) is, with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. It is concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. A mathematician who works in the field of geometry is c ...
at
Gresham College
Gresham College is an institution of higher learning located at Barnard's Inn Hall off Holborn in Central London, England. It does not enroll students or award degrees. It was founded in 1596 under the will of Sir Thomas Gresham, and hosts ove ...
; here he met
Walter Frank Raphael Weldon
Walter Frank Raphael Weldon FRS (15 March 1860 – 13 April 1906), was an English evolutionary biologist and a founder of biometry. He was the joint founding editor of ''Biometrika'', with Francis Galton and Karl Pearson.
Family
Weldon was th ...
, a zoologist who had some interesting problems requiring quantitative solutions. The collaboration, in
biometry
Biostatistics (also known as biometry) are the development and application of statistical methods to a wide range of topics in biology. It encompasses the design of biological experiments, the collection and analysis of data from those experimen ...
and
evolution
Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...
ary theory, was a fruitful one and lasted until Weldon died in 1906. Weldon introduced Pearson to
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...
's cousin
Francis Galton
Sir Francis Galton, FRS FRAI (; 16 February 1822 – 17 January 1911), was an English Victorian era polymath: a statistician, sociologist, psychologist, anthropologist, tropical explorer, geographer, inventor, meteorologist, proto- ...
, who was interested in aspects of evolution such as heredity and
eugenics
Eugenics ( ; ) is a fringe set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter human gene pools by excluding people and groups judged to be inferior or ...
. Pearson became Galton's protégé, at times to the verge of
hero worship.
After Galton's death in 1911, Pearson embarked on producing his definitive biography — a three-volume tome of narrative, letters, genealogies, commentaries, and photographs — published in 1914, 1924, and 1930, with much of Pearson's own money paying for their print runs. The biography, done "to satisfy myself and without regard to traditional standards, to the needs of publishers or to the tastes of the reading public", triumphed Galton's life, work and personal heredity. He predicted that Galton, rather than
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...
, would be remembered as the most prodigious grandson of
Erasmus Darwin.
When Galton died, he left the residue of his estate to the
University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
for a chair in Eugenics. Pearson was the first holder of this chair — the ''Galton Chair of Eugenics'', later the ''Galton Chair of Genetics''—in accordance with Galton's wishes. He formed the Department of Applied Statistics (with financial support from the
Drapers' Company
The Worshipful Company of Drapers is one of the 110 livery companies of the City of London. It has the formal name The Master and Wardens and Brethren and Sisters of the Guild or Fraternity of the Blessed Mary the Virgin of the Mystery of Dr ...
), into which he incorporated the Biometric and Galton laboratories. He remained with the department until his retirement in 1933, and continued to work until his death at
Coldharbour, Surrey on 27 April 1936.
Pearson was a "
zealous
The Zealots were a political movement in 1st-century Second Temple Judaism which sought to incite the people of Judea Province to rebel against the Roman Empire and expel it from the Holy Land by force of arms, most notably during the First J ...
" atheist and a freethinker.
Family
In 1890 Pearson married Maria Sharpe. The couple had three children: Sigrid Loetitia Pearson, Helga Sharpe Pearson, and
Egon Pearson, who became a statistician himself and succeeded his father as head of the Applied Statistics Department at University College. Maria died in 1928 and in 1929 Karl married Margaret Victoria Child, a co-worker at the Biometric Laboratory. He and his family lived at 7 Well Road in
Hampstead
Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...
, now marked with a
blue plaque
A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...
.
Einstein and Pearson's work
When the 23-year-old
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...
started the
Olympia Academy
The Olympia Academy (German: ''Akademie Olympia'') was a group of friends in Bern, Switzerland, who met – usually at Albert Einstein's apartment – to discuss philosophy and physics.
Overview
The group was founded in 1902 by Einstein, ...
study group in 1902, with his two younger friends,
Maurice Solovine
Maurice Solovine (21 May 1875 – 13 February 1958) was a Romanian philosopher and mathematician. He is best known for his association with Albert Einstein.
Biography
Solovine was born in Iași, a university city in eastern Romania, near the bord ...
and Conrad Habicht, his first reading suggestion was Pearson's ''
The Grammar of Science
''The Grammar of Science'' is a book by Karl Pearson first published in hardback in 1892. In 1900, the second edition, published by Adam & Charles Black, appeared. The third, revised, edition was also published by Adam & Charles Black in 1911. It w ...
''. This book covered several themes that were later to become part of the theories of Einstein and other scientists. Pearson asserted that the laws of nature are relative to the perceptive ability of the observer. Irreversibility of natural processes, he claimed, is a purely relative conception. An observer who travels at the exact velocity of light would see an eternal now, or an absence of motion. He speculated that an observer who travelled faster than light would see time reversal, similar to a cinema film being run backwards. Pearson also discussed
antimatter
In modern physics, antimatter is defined as matter composed of the antiparticles (or "partners") of the corresponding particles in "ordinary" matter. Antimatter occurs in natural processes like cosmic ray collisions and some types of radioac ...
, the
fourth dimension, and wrinkles in time.
Pearson's
relativity was based on
idealism
In philosophy, the term idealism identifies and describes metaphysical perspectives which assert that reality is indistinguishable and inseparable from perception and understanding; that reality is a mental construct closely connected to ide ...
, in the sense of ideas or pictures in a
mind
The mind is the set of faculties responsible for all mental phenomena. Often the term is also identified with the phenomena themselves. These faculties include thought, imagination, memory, will, and sensation. They are responsible for various m ...
. "There are many signs," he wrote, "that a sound idealism is surely replacing, as a basis for natural philosophy, the crude
materialism of the older physicists." (Preface to second Ed., ''
The Grammar of Science
''The Grammar of Science'' is a book by Karl Pearson first published in hardback in 1892. In 1900, the second edition, published by Adam & Charles Black, appeared. The third, revised, edition was also published by Adam & Charles Black in 1911. It w ...
'') Further, he stated, "...science is in reality a classification and analysis of the contents of the mind..." "In truth, the field of science is much more
consciousness
Consciousness, at its simplest, is sentience and awareness of internal and external existence. However, the lack of definitions has led to millennia of analyses, explanations and debates by philosophers, theologians, linguisticians, and scien ...
than an external world." (''Ibid.'', Ch. II, § 6) "Law in the scientific sense is thus essentially a product of the human mind and has no meaning apart from man." (''Ibid.'', Ch. III, § 4)
Politics and eugenics
![Karl Pearson, 1910](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Karl_Pearson%2C_1910.jpg)
A eugenicist who applied his
social Darwinism
Social Darwinism refers to various theories and societal practices that purport to apply biological concepts of natural selection and survival of the fittest to sociology, economics and politics, and which were largely defined by scholars in We ...
to entire nations, Pearson saw war against "inferior races" as a logical implication of the theory of evolution. "My view – and I think it may be called the scientific view of a nation," he wrote, "is that of an organized whole, kept up to a high pitch of internal efficiency by insuring that its numbers are substantially recruited from the better stocks, and kept up to a high pitch of external efficiency by contest, chiefly by way of war with inferior races." He reasoned that, if
August Weismann
August Friedrich Leopold Weismann FRS (For), HonFRSE, LLD (17 January 18345 November 1914) was a German evolutionary biologist. Fellow German Ernst Mayr ranked him as the second most notable evolutionary theorist of the 19th century, after Cha ...
's theory of
germ plasm
Germ plasm () is a biological concept developed in the 19th century by the German biologist August Weismann. It states that heritable information is transmitted only by germ cells in the gonads (ovaries and testes), not by somatic cells. The ...
is correct, the nation is wasting money when it tries to improve people who come from poor stock.
Weismann claimed that acquired characteristics could not be inherited. Therefore, training benefits only the trained generation. Their children will not exhibit the learned improvements and, in turn, will need to be improved. "No degenerate and feeble stock will ever be converted into healthy and sound stock by the accumulated effects of education, good laws, and sanitary surroundings. Such means may render the individual members of a stock passable if not strong members of society, but the same process will have to be gone through again and again with their offspring, and this in ever-widening circles, if the stock, owing to the conditions in which society has placed it, is able to increase its numbers."
"History shows me one way, and one way only, in which a high state of civilization has been produced, namely, the struggle of race with race, and the survival of the physically and mentally fitter race. If you want to know whether the lower races of man can evolve a higher type, I fear the only course is to leave them to fight it out among themselves, and even then the struggle for existence between individual and individual, between tribe and tribe, may not be supported by that physical selection due to a particular climate on which probably so much of the Aryan's success depended."
Pearson was known in his lifetime as a prominent "
freethinker
Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an epistemological viewpoint which holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma, and that beliefs should instead be reached by other metho ...
" and socialist. He gave lectures on such issues as "
the woman's question" (this was the era of the
suffragist movement in the UK) and upon
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...
. His commitment to socialism and its ideals led him to refuse the offer of being created an OBE (
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
) in 1920 and also to refuse a
knighthood
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...
in 1935.
In ''The Myth of the Jewish Race'' Raphael and Jennifer Patai cite Karl Pearson's 1925 opposition (in the first issue of the journal ''Annals of Eugenics'' which he founded) to Jewish immigration into Britain. Pearson alleged that these immigrants "will develop into a parasitic race.
..Taken ''on the average'', and regarding both sexes, this alien Jewish population is somewhat inferior physically and mentally to the native population".
Pearson concluding remarks on stepping down as editor of the Annals of Eugenics, indicate a sense of failure of his aim to use the scientific study of Eugenics as a guide for moral conduct and public policy.
In June 2020
UCL announced that it was renaming two buildings which had been named after Pearson, because of his connection with Eugenics.
Contributions to biometrics
Karl Pearson was important in the founding of the school of biometrics, which was a competing theory to describe evolution and population inheritance at the turn of the 20th century. His series of eighteen papers, "Mathematical Contributions to the Theory of Evolution" established him as the founder of the biometrical school for inheritance. In fact, Pearson devoted much time during 1893 to 1904 to developing statistical techniques for biometry. These techniques, which are widely used today for statistical analysis, include the
chi-squared test
A chi-squared test (also chi-square or test) is a statistical hypothesis test used in the analysis of contingency tables when the sample sizes are large. In simpler terms, this test is primarily used to examine whether two categorical variables ...
,
standard deviation
In statistics, the standard deviation is a measure of the amount of variation or dispersion of a set of values. A low standard deviation indicates that the values tend to be close to the mean (also called the expected value) of the set, while ...
, and
correlation
In statistics, correlation or dependence is any statistical relationship, whether causal or not, between two random variables or bivariate data. Although in the broadest sense, "correlation" may indicate any type of association, in statistics ...
and
regression coefficients. Pearson's Law of Ancestral Heredity stated that germ plasm consisted of heritable elements inherited from the parents as well as from more distant ancestors, the proportion of which varied for different traits. Karl Pearson was a follower of
Galton
Sir Francis Galton, FRS FRAI (; 16 February 1822 – 17 January 1911), was an English Victorian era polymath: a statistician, sociologist, psychologist, anthropologist, tropical explorer, geographer, inventor, meteorologist, proto- ...
, and although the two differed in some respects, Pearson used a substantial amount of Francis Galton's statistical concepts in his formulation of the biometrical school for inheritance, such as the law of regression. The biometric school, unlike the
Mendelians, focused not on providing a mechanism for inheritance, but rather on providing a mathematical description for inheritance that was not causal in nature. While Galton proposed a discontinuous theory of evolution, in which species would have to change via large jumps rather than small changes that built up over time, Pearson pointed out flaws in Galton's argument and actually used Galton's ideas to further a continuous theory of evolution, whereas the Mendelians favored a discontinuous theory of evolution. While Galton focused primarily on the application of statistical methods to the study of heredity, Pearson and his colleague Weldon expanded statistical reasoning to the fields of inheritance, variation, correlation, and natural and sexual selection.
For Pearson, the theory of evolution was not intended to identify a biological mechanism that explained patterns of inheritance, whereas
Mendelian's theory postulated the
gene
In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a ba ...
as the mechanism for inheritance. Pearson criticized
Bateson and other biologists for their failure to adopt biometrical techniques in their study of evolution. Pearson criticized biologists who did not focus on the statistical validity of their theories, stating that "before we can accept
ny cause of a progressive changeas a factor we must have not only shown its plausibility but if possible have demonstrated its quantitative ability"
Biologists had succumb to "almost metaphysical speculation as to the causes of heredity," which had replaced the process of experimental data collection that actually might allow scientists to narrow down potential theories.
For Pearson, laws of nature were useful for making accurate predictions and for concisely describing trends in observed data.
Causation was the experience "that a certain sequence has occurred and recurred in the past".
Thus, identifying a particular mechanism of genetics was not a worthy pursuit of biologists, who should instead focus on mathematical descriptions of empirical data. This, in part led to the fierce debate between the biometricians and the Mendelians, including
Bateson. After Bateson rejected one of Pearson's manuscripts that described a new theory for the variability of an offspring, or homotyposis, Pearson and Weldon established
Biometrika in 1902. Although the biometric approach to inheritance eventually lost to the Mendelian approach, the techniques Pearson and the biometricians at the time developed are vital to studies of biology and evolution today.
Awards from professional bodies
Pearson achieved widespread recognition across a range of disciplines and his membership of, and awards from, various professional bodies reflects this:
*1896: elected
FRS: Fellow of the
Royal Society
The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
*1898: awarded the
Darwin Medal
The Darwin Medal is one of the medals awarded by the Royal Society for "distinction in evolution, biological diversity and developmental, population and organismal biology".
In 1885, International Darwin Memorial Fund was transferred to the ...
*1911: awarded the honorary degree of LLD from the
University of St Andrews
(Aien aristeuein)
, motto_lang = grc
, mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best
, established =
, type = Public research university
Ancient university
, endowment ...
*1911: awarded a DSc from University of London
*1920: offered (and refused) the
OBE
*1932: awarded the Rudolf Virchow medal by the Berliner Anthropologische Gesellschaft
*1935: offered (and refused) a
knight
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...
hood
He was also elected an Honorary Fellow of King's College, Cambridge, the Royal Society of Edinburgh, University College London and the Royal Society of Medicine, and a Member of the Actuaries' Club. A
sesquicentenary
An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded in a previous year, and may also refer to the commemoration or celebration of that event. The word was first used for Catholic feasts to commemorate saint ...
conference was held in London on 23 March 2007, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of his birth.
Contributions to statistics
Pearson's work was all-embracing in the wide application and development of mathematical statistics, and encompassed the fields of
biology
Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...
,
epidemiology
Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population.
It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decisions and evidenc ...
, anthropometry, medicine,
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
and social history. In 1901, with Weldon and Galton, he founded the journal ''
Biometrika'' whose object was the development of statistical theory. He edited this journal until his death. Among those who assisted Pearson in his research were a number of female mathematicians who included
Beatrice Mabel Cave-Browne-Cave
Beatrice Mabel Cave-Browne-Cave, MBE AFRAeS (30 May 1874 – 9 July 1947) was an English mathematician who undertook pioneering work in the mathematics of aeronautics.
Birth and education
Beatrice Cave-Browne-Cave was the daughter of Sir Thom ...
,
Frances Cave-Browne-Cave, and
Alice Lee. He also founded the journal ''Annals of Eugenics'' (now ''
Annals of Human Genetics
The ''Annals of Human Genetics'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering human genetics. It was established in 1925 by Karl Pearson as the ''Annals of Eugenics'', with as subtitle, Darwin's epigram "I have no Faith in anything shor ...
'') in 1925. He published the ''
Drapers' Company
The Worshipful Company of Drapers is one of the 110 livery companies of the City of London. It has the formal name The Master and Wardens and Brethren and Sisters of the Guild or Fraternity of the Blessed Mary the Virgin of the Mystery of Dr ...
Research Memoirs'' largely to provide a record of the output of the Department of Applied Statistics not published elsewhere.
Pearson's thinking underpins many of the 'classical' statistical methods which are in common use today. Examples of his contributions are:
*
Correlation coefficient
A correlation coefficient is a numerical measure of some type of correlation, meaning a statistical relationship between two variables. The variables may be two columns of a given data set of observations, often called a sample, or two components ...
. The correlation coefficient (first developed by
Auguste Bravais
Auguste Bravais (; 23 August 1811, Annonay, Ardèche – 30 March 1863, Le Chesnay, France) was a French physicist known for his work in crystallography, the conception of Bravais lattices, and the formulation of Bravais law. Bravais also studied ...
. and
Francis Galton
Sir Francis Galton, FRS FRAI (; 16 February 1822 – 17 January 1911), was an English Victorian era polymath: a statistician, sociologist, psychologist, anthropologist, tropical explorer, geographer, inventor, meteorologist, proto- ...
) was defined as a product-moment, and its relationship with
linear regression
In statistics, linear regression is a linear approach for modelling the relationship between a scalar response and one or more explanatory variables (also known as dependent and independent variables). The case of one explanatory variable is call ...
was studied.
*
Method of moments. Pearson introduced
moments, a concept borrowed from
physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
, as descriptive statistics and for the fitting of distributions to samples.
*
Pearson's system of continuous curves. A system of continuous univariate probability distributions that came to form the basis of the now conventional continuous probability distributions. Since the system is complete up to the fourth moment, it is a powerful complement to the Pearsonian method of moments.
*
Chi distance. A precursor and special case of the
Mahalanobis distance.
*
p-value. Defined as the probability measure of the complement of the
ball
A ball is a round object (usually spherical, but can sometimes be ovoid) with several uses. It is used in ball games, where the play of the game follows the state of the ball as it is hit, kicked or thrown by players. Balls can also be used f ...
with the hypothesized value as center point and chi distance as radius.
*Foundations of
statistical hypothesis testing theory and
statistical decision theory
Decision theory (or the theory of choice; not to be confused with choice theory) is a branch of applied probability theory concerned with the theory of making decisions based on assigning probabilities to various factors and assigning numerical ...
.
In the seminal ''"On the criterion..."'' paper,
Pearson proposed testing the validity of hypothesized values by evaluating the chi distance between the hypothesized and the empirically observed values via the p-value, which was proposed in the same paper. The use of
preset evidence criteria, so called alpha type-I error probabilities, was later proposed by
Jerzy Neyman
Jerzy Neyman (April 16, 1894 – August 5, 1981; born Jerzy Spława-Neyman; ) was a Polish mathematician and statistician who spent the first part of his professional career at various institutions in Warsaw, Poland and then at University College ...
and
Egon Pearson.
*
Pearson's chi-squared test. A hypothesis test using normal approximation for discrete data.
*
Principal component analysis
Principal component analysis (PCA) is a popular technique for analyzing large datasets containing a high number of dimensions/features per observation, increasing the interpretability of data while preserving the maximum amount of information, and ...
. The method of fitting a
linear subspace to multivariate data by minimising the
chi distances.
[Jolliffe, I. T. (2002). ''Principal Component Analysis, 2nd ed''. New York: Springer-Verlag.]
*The first introduction of the
histogram is usually credited to Pearson.
Publications
* Pearson, Karl (1880)
''The New Werther'' C, Kegan Paul & Co.
* Pearson, Karl (1882)
''The Trinity: A Nineteenth Century Passion-play'' Cambridge: E. Johnson.
* Pearson, Karl (1887)
''Die Fronica'' Strassburg: K.J. Trübner
* Pearson, Karl (1887)
''The Moral Basis of Socialism'' William Reeves, London.
* Pearson, Karl (1888)
''The Ethic of Freethought'' London: T. Fisher Unwin. Rep. University Press of the Pacific, 2002.
* Pearson, Karl (1892)
''The Grammar of Science'' London: Walter Scott. Dover Publications, 2004
* Pearson, Karl (1892)
''The New University for London: A Guide to its History and a Criticism of its Defects'' London: T. Fisher Unwin.
*
* Pearson, Karl (1897)
''The Chances of Death and Other Studies in Evolution''2 Vol London: Edward Arnold.
* Pearson, Karl (1904)
''On the Theory of Contingency and its Relation to Association and Normal Correlation'' London: Dulau & Co.
* Pearson, Karl (1905)
''On the General Theory of Skew Correlation and Non-linear Regression'' London: Dulau & Co.
* Pearson, Karl (1906)
''A Mathematical Theory of Random Migration'' London: Dulau & Co.
* Pearson, Karl (1907). ''Studies in National Deterioration''. London: Dulau & Co.
* Pearson, Karl, & Pollard, A.F. Campbell (1907)
''An Experimental Study of the Stresses in Masonry Dams'' London: Dulau & Co.
* Pearson, Karl (1907)
''A First Study of the Statistics of Pulmonary Tuberculosis'' London: Dulau & Co.
* Pearson, Karl, & Barrington, Amy (1909)
''A First Study of the Inheritance of Vision and of the Relative Influence of Heredity and Environment on Sight'' London: Dulau & Co.
* Pearson, Karl; Reynolds, W. D., & Stanton, W. F. (1909). ''On a Practical Theory of Elliptical and Pseudo-elliptical Arches, with Special Reference to the Ideal Masonry Arch''.
* Pearson, Karl (1909)
''The Groundwork of Eugenics'' London: Dulau & Co.
* Pearson, Karl (1909)
''The Scope and Importance to the State of the Science of National Eugenics'' London: Dulau & Co.
* Pearson, Karl, & Barrington, Amy (1910)
''A Preliminary Study of Extreme Alcoholism in Adults'' London: Dulau & Co.
* Pearson, Karl, & Elderton, Ethel M. (1910)
''A First Study of the Influence of Parental Alcoholism on the Physique and Ability of the Offspring'' London: Dulau & Co.
* Pearson, Karl (1910)
''The Influence of Parental Alcoholism on the Physique and Ability of the Offspring: A Reply to the Cambridge Economists'' London: Dulau & Co.
* Pearson, Karl, & Elderton, Ethel M. (1910)
''A Second Study of the Influence of Parental Alcoholism on the Physique and Ability of the Offspring'' London: Dulau & Co.
* Pearson, Karl (1911)
''An Attempt to Correct some of the Misstatements Made by Sir Victor Horsley and Mary D. Sturge, M.D. in the Criticisms of the Galton Laboratory Memoir: A First Study of the Influence of Parental Alcoholism, &c'' London: Dulau & Co.
* Pearson, Karl; Nettleship, Edward, & Usher, Charles (1911–1913)
''A Monograph on Albinism in Man''2 Vol London: Dulau & Co., Ltd.
* Pearson, Karl (1912)
''The Problem of Practical Eugenics'' London: Dulau & Co.
* Pearson, Karl (1912). ''Tuberculosis, Heredity and Environment''. London: Dulau & Co.
* Pearson, Karl (1913). ''On the Correlation of Fertility with Social Value: A Cooperative Study''. London: Dulau & Co.
* Pearson, Karl, & Jaederholm, Gustav A. (1914). ''Mendelism and the Problem of Mental Defect, II: On the Continuity of Mental Defect''. London: Dulau & Co.
* Pearson, Karl; Williams, M.H., & Bell, Julia (1914)
''A Statistical Study of Oral Temperatures in School Children'' London: Dulau & Co.
* Pearson, Karl (1914-24-30)
''The Life, Letters and Labours of Francis Galton'' 3 Vol. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
* Pearson, Karl (1915)
''Some Recent Misinterpretations of the Problem of Nurture and Nature'' Cambridge University Press.
* Pearson, Karl; Young, A.W., & Elderton, Ethel (1918)
''On the Torsion Resulting from Flexure in Prisms with Cross-sections of Uni-axial Symmetry Only'' Cambridge University Press.
* Pearson, Karl, & Bell, Julia (1919)
''A Study of the Long Bones of the English Skeleton'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
* Pearson, Karl (1920). ''The Science of Man: its Needs and its Prospects''. Cambridge University Press.
* Pearson, Karl, & Karn, Mary Noel (1922). ''Study of the Data Provided by a Baby-clinic in a Large Manufacturing Town''. Cambridge University Press.
* Pearson, Karl (1922). ''Francis Galton, 1822–1922: A Centenary Appreciation''. Cambridge University Press.
* Pearson, Karl (1923). ''On the Relationship of Health to the Psychical and Physical Characters in School Children''. Cambridge University Press.
* Pearson, Karl (1926). ''On the Skull and Portraits of George Buchanan''. Edinburgh, London: Oliver & Boyd.
Articles
*
*
*
*
* Pearson, Karl (1897)
"On Telegony in Man,"''Proceedings of the Royal Society of London'', Vol. LX, pp. 273–283.
* Pearson, Karl (1897)
"On a Form of Spurious Correlation which May Arise when Indices are Used in the Measurement of Organs,"''Proceedings of the Royal Society of London'', Vol. LX, pp. 489–502.
*
*
* Pearson, Karl, & Whiteley, M.A. (1899)
"Data for the Problem of Evolution in Man, I: A First Study of the Variability and Correlation of the Hand,"''Proceedings of the Royal Society of London'', Vol. LXV, pp. 126–151.
* Pearson, Karl, & Beeton, Mary (1899)
"Data for the Problem of Evolution in Man, II: A First Study on the Inheritance of Longevity and the Selective Death-rate in Man,"''Proceedings of the Royal Society of London'', Vol. LXV, pp. 290–305.
* Pearson, Karl (1900)
"On the Law of Reversion,"''Proceedings of the Royal Society of London'', Vol. LXVI, pp. 140–164.
* Pearson, Karl; Beeton, M., & Yule, G.U. (1900)
"On the Correlation Between Duration of Life and the Number of Offspring,"''Proceedings of the Royal Society of London'', Vol. LXVII, pp. 159–179.
* Pearson, Karl (1900). "On the Criterion that a Given System of Deviations from the Probable in the Case of a Correlated System of Variables is Such that it can be Reasonably Supposed to Have Arisen from Random Sampling," ''Philosophical Magazine'', 5th Series, Vol. L, pp. 157–175.
* Pearson, Karl (1901)
"On Lines and Planes of Closest Fit to Systems of Points in Space,"''Philosophical Magazine'', 6th Series, Vol. II, pp. 559–572.
* Pearson, Karl (1902–1903)
"The Law of Ancestral Heredity,"''Biometrika'', Vol. II, pp. 221–229.
* Pearson, Karl (1903). "On a General Theory of the Method of False Position", ''Philosophical Magazine'', 6th Series, Vol. 5, pp. 658–668.
* Pearson, Karl (1907). "On the Influence of Past Experience on Future Expectation," ''Philosophical Magazine'', 6th Series, Vol. XIII, pp. 365–378.
* Pearson, Karl, & Gibson, Winifred (1907)
"Further Considerations on the Correlations of Stellar Characters,"''
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
''Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society'' (MNRAS) is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering research in astronomy and astrophysics. It has been in continuous existence since 1827 and publishes letters and papers reporting orig ...
'', Vol. LXVIII, pp. 415–448.
*
*
* Pearson, Karl (1930)
"On a New Theory of Progressive Evolution,"''Annals of Eugenics'', Vol. IV, Nos. 1–2, pp. 1–40.
* Pearson, Karl (1931)
"On the Inheritance of Mental Disease,"''Annals of Eugenics'', Vol. IV, Nos. 3–4, pp. 362–380.
Miscellany
* Pearson, Karl (1885)
''The Common Sense of the Exact Sciences'' London: Kegan, Paul, Trench & Co. (editor).
* Pearson, Karl (1886–1893)
''A History of the Theory of Elasticity and of the Strength of Materials from Galilei to the Present Time''Vol. 2Vol. 3 Cambridge University Press (editor).
** Pearson, Karl (1889)
''The Elastical Researches of Barré de Saint-Venant'' Cambridge University Press (editor).
* Pearson, Karl (1888). ''The Positive Creed of Freethought: with Some Remarks on the Relation of Freethought to Socialism. Being a Lecture Delivered at South Place Institute''. London: William Reeves.
* Pearson, Karl (1901)
''National Life from the Stand-point of Science: An Address Delivered at Newcastle'' London: Adam & Charles Black.
* Pearson, Karl (1908). ''A Second Study of the Statistics of Pulmonary Tuberculosis: Marital Infection''. London: Dulau & Co. (editor).
* Pearson, Karl (1910)
''Nature and Nurture, the Problem of the Future: A Presidential Address'' London: Dulau & Co.
* Pearson, Karl (1911)
''The Academic Aspect of the Science of Eugenics: A Lecture Delivered to Undergraduates'' London: Dulau & Co.
* Pearson, Karl (1912)
''Treasury of Human Inheritance''2 Vol Dulau & Co., London (editor).
* Pearson, Karl (1912)
''Eugenics and Public Health: An Address to Public Health Officers'' London: Dulau & Co.
* Pearson, Karl (1912)
''Darwinism, Medical Progress and Eugenics. The Cavendish Lecture: An Address to the Medical Profession'' London: Dulau & Co.
* Pearson, Karl (1912)
''Social Problems, their Treatment, Past, Present, and Future: A Lecture'' London: Dulau & Co.
* Pearson, Karl (1914)
''On the Handicapping of the First-born: Being a Lecture Delivered at the Galton Laboratory'' London: Dulau & Co.
* Pearson, Karl (1914)
''Tables for Statisticians and Biometricians'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (editor).
* Pearson, Karl (1919–22). ''Tracts for Computers''. Cambridge University Press (editor).
* Pearson, Karl (1921). ''Side Lights on the Evolution of Man: Being a Lecture Delivered at the Royal Institution''. Cambridge University Press.
* Pearson, Karl (1922)
''Tables of the Incomplete Γ-Function'' London: Pub. for the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research by H.M. Stationery Office.
* Pearson, Karl (1923)
''Charles Darwin, 1809–1882: An Appreciation. Being a Lecture Delivered to the Teachers of the London County Council'' Cambridge University Press.
* Pearson, Karl (1927)
''The Right of the Unborn Child: Being a Lecture Delivered... to Teachers from the London County Council Schools'' Cambridge University Press.
* Pearson, Karl (1934). ''Tables of the Incomplete Beta-function''. Cambridge University Press
second ed. 1968 (editor).
See also
*
Biophysics
Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that applies approaches and methods traditionally used in physics to study biological phenomena. Biophysics covers all scales of biological organization, from molecular to organismic and populations. ...
*
*
Kikuchi Dairoku
Baron was a Japanese mathematician, educator, and education administrator during the Meiji era.
Biography
Early life and family
Kikuchi was born in Edo (present-day Tokyo), as the second son of Mitsukuri Shūhei, a professor at Bansho Shi ...
, a close friend and contemporary of Karl Pearson at
University College School
("Slowly but surely")
, established =
, closed =
, type = Public schoolIndependent day school
, religion =
, president =
, head_label = Headmaster
, head = Mark Beard
, r_head_label =
, r_hea ...
and
Cambridge University
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
*
Scientific racism
Scientific racism, sometimes termed biological racism, is the pseudoscience, pseudoscientific belief that empirical evidence exists to support or justify racism (racial discrimination), racial inferiority, or racial superiority.. "Few tragedies ...
References
Most of the biographical information above is taken from th
Karl Pearson pageat the Department of Statistical Sciences at University College London, which has been placed in the public domain. The main source for that page was ''A list of the papers and correspondence of Karl Pearson (1857–1936)'' held in the Manuscripts Room, University College London Library, compiled by M. Merrington, B. Blundell, S. Burrough, J. Golden and J. Hogarth and published by the Publications Office, University College London, 1983.
Additional information fro
entry for Karl Pearson in the Sackler Digital Archive of the Royal Society
Further reading
* Eisenhart, Churchill (1974). ''Dictionary of Scientific Biography'', 10, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, pp. 447–473.
*
* Pearson, E. S. (1938). ''Karl Pearson: An Appreciation of Some Aspects of his Life and Work''. Cambridge University Press.
* Porter, T. M. (2004). ''Karl Pearson: The Scientific Life in a Statistical Age'', Princeton University Press. .
External links
*
*
* John Aldrich'
at the University of Southampton (contains many useful links to further sources of information).
* Encyclopædia Britannic
Karl Pearson* Gavan Tredoux's Francis Galton website
galton.org contains Pearson's biography of Francis Galton, and several other papers – in addition to nearly all of Galton's own published works.
at
The Rutherford Journal
Brian John Copeland (born 1950) is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand, and author of books on the computing pioneer Alan Turing.
Education
Copeland was educated at the University of Oxford, obta ...
.
*
"Studies in the history of probability and statistics, L: Karl Pearson and the Rule of Three" Stigler 2012
From Masaryk to Karl Pearson Philosophy as Scientia Scientiarum
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