Natural and Political Observations… Made Upon the Bills of Mortality

work by Graunt

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July 1, 2026

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Natural and Political Observations . . . Made Upon the Bills of Mortality (1662) by John Graunt is a foundational work in demography. Graunt, considered the founder of this field, analyzed London's death records, which had been kept since 1532.1

His key innovations included:
* Classifying death rates by cause, noting higher urban mortality.1
* Observing that while more males were born, higher male mortality resulted in an almost even sex ratio in the population.1
* Developing the life table, which used survivorship rates to predict life expectancy year by year.1

Graunt's work influenced later statisticians and astronomers, including Edmond Halley. A "bill of mortality" was a periodical statement of deaths, and later births, within a specific area, formerly issued in London and its surroundings.12

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John Graunt
…he was inspired to write Natural and Political Observations . . . Made upon the Bills of Mortality (1662). He produced four editions of this work; the third (1665) was published by the Royal Society, of which Graunt was a charter member.
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…he was inspired to write Natural and Political Observations . . . Made upon the Bills of Mortality (1662). He produced four editions of this work; the third (1665) was published by the Royal Society, of which Graunt was a charter member.
Read More