PEARSON, KARL

born March 27, 1857, London died April 27, 1936, London English mathematician, one of the founders of modern statistics. Part of Pearson's multifaceted nature is revealed by his three-year law practice begun in 1881, his radical political activities in London, and the publication of two literary works by himThe New Werther (1880) and The Trinity: A Nineteenth Century Passion-Play (1882). In 1884 he was appointed professor of applied mathematics and mechanics at University College, London, where he taught, until his retirement in 1933, as Gresham professor of geometry (1891), head of the department of applied mathematics (1907), and Galton professor of eugenics (1911). Pearson's lectures as professor of geometry evolved into The Grammar of Science (1892), his most widely read book and a classic in the philosophy of science. Stimulated by the evolutionary writings of Francis Galton and a personal friendship with Walter F.R. Weldon, Pearson became immersed in the problem of applying statistics to biological problems of heredity and evolution. The methods he developed are essential to every serious application of statistics. From 1893 to 1912 he wrote a series of 18 papers entitled Mathematical Contributions to the Theory of Evolution, which contained much of his most valuable work, including the chi-square test of statistical significance. He was a cofounder (with Galton and Weldon), editor of (190136), and major contributor to the statistical journal Biometrika. He was also editor of The Annals of Eugenics (192536). Pearson's other works include The Chances of Death and Other Studies in Evolution (1897); The Life, Letters and Labours of Francis Galton (1914, 1930); Tables for Statisticians and Biometricians (1914, 1931); Tables of the Incomplete Gamma Function (1922); and Tables of the Incomplete Beta Function (1934).