Father of statistics

Statisticians don’t generally feature on “dream dinner party” guest lists but we reckon they ought to.

In this post, we’re celebrating famous statisticians from history, illustrated by the brilliant Adam Murphy of Corpse Talk.

From mathematicians who believed in miracles, to part-time spies, cholera Columbos, and female physicians way ahead of their time, they had a huge impact on the world today.

Florence Nightingale

Everyone knows Florence Nightingale as a nurse, but fewer know her as a leading light in statistics.

The first female member of the Royal Statistical Society, she analyzed army data in the Crimean War and discovered that 16,000 out of 18,000 deaths were due to preventable diseases caused by poor hygiene - not battle wounds.

Armed with this data, she presented it to government in a pioneering type of chart, making it so clear and compelling that they had to take action.

Thanks to her, thousands of soldiers were saved, sanitary science and statistics department