John Graunt

John Graunt (born April 24, 1620, London—died April 18, 1674, London) was an English statistician, generally considered to be the founder of the science of demography, the statistical study of human populations. His analysis of the vital statistics of the London populace influenced the pioneer demographic work of his friend Sir William Petty and, even more importantly, that of Edmond Halley, the astronomer royal. A prosperous haberdasher until his business was destroyed in the London...