QUETELET, LAMBERT ADOLPHE JACQUES


Meaning of QUETELET, LAMBERT ADOLPHE JACQUES in English

born Feb. 22, 1796, Ghent, Belg.

died Feb. 17, 1874, Brussels

Belgian statistician, sociologist, and astronomer.

He is known for his application of statistics and the theory of probability to social phenomena. He collected and analyzed government statistics on crime, mortality, and other subjects and devised improvements in census taking. In Sur l'homme (1835) and L'Anthropométrie (1871) he developed the notion of the homme moyen , the statistically "average man." A founder of quantitative social science, he was nonetheless widely criticized for the crudeness of his methodology.

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia.      Краткая энциклопедия Британика.