Table of Contents

Preface; 1. Introduction; 2. Mathematics and property in the seventeenth century; 3. Edmond Halley's life table; 4. Halley's impact or lack of it; 5. De Moivre and his early influence; 6. Mathematicians as consultants; 7. Mathematicians and early life insurance companies; 8. The annuity bubble of the 1760s and 70s; 9. The after shocks of the bubble on life annuities; 10. Developments in the life insurance industry in the later eighteenth century; 11. A return to roots; 12. Conclusion; Appendix I. Technical appendix; Appendix II. Life tables; Endnotes; Bibliography; Index.

Promotional Information

This work explains the underfunding of early insurance and annuity schemes, and proposes a new view of how actuarial science developed as a discipline.

About the Author

David R. Bellhouse holds degrees in actuarial science and in statistics. He has been at the University of Western Ontario for more than forty years, where he now is Professor Emeritus. He has published extensively in the history of probability, statistics, and actuarial science, and has recently published a major biography of Abraham De Moivre. Bellhouse is a fellow of the American Statistical Association and has served as President of the Statistical Society of Canada. He is a recipient of the University of Western Ontario's Gold Medal for Excellence in Teaching, and recently received the University of Manitoba Faculty of Science Honoured Alumni Award.

Reviews

'This is a distinctive work of scholarship, visiting ground that has never been as thoroughly subjected to such deep and expert examination. Bellhouse is especially knowledgeable about early English probability and its milieu, and about actuarial science. There is no one comparable in this combination of skills, and he is a master of the relevant archives as well.' Stephen Stigler, University of Chicago

'Bellhouse has surveyed a relatively neglected but important literature in the development of probability and statistics. The book is written with care and meticulous attention to detail, and the results are particularly interesting.' Sandy Zabell, Northwestern University

'Bellhouse (statistics, Univ. of Western Ontario) has produced a one-of-a-kind history of actuarial science in 18th-century England … All collections serving actuarial, history of science, and English history scholarship should have this informative, fascinating book. Summing Up: Recommended.' W. R. Lee, Choice