Figures for calculating mortality rates
Date
1676-1683
Creator
Unknown, Artist
Object type
Archive reference number
Manuscript page number
p3
Material
Dimensions
height (page): 356mm
width (page): 223mm
width (page): 223mm
Description
A table in Sir Richard Corbet's paper on 'A method of calculating the population'.
Sir Richard Corbet, MP for Shrewsbury from 1677, was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1665. This short paper deals with how to estimate the population of England through a national census using sampling techniques. Population growth and mortality rates as related to economic growth were of interest to members of the Royal Society including John Graunt and Sir William Petty. Corbet gathered information about deaths and the age of the deceased in the parish of St Chad near Shrewsbury for the period between 1676 and 1682, and drew up a mortality table by age-group and gender. Corbet’s is possibly the first attempt to draw up such a table in England. It is unclear when this paper arrived at the Royal Society. It remained unpublished and appears to have been unknown by Edmond Halley, who used mortality rates for the evaluation of life annuities.
Sir Richard Corbet, MP for Shrewsbury from 1677, was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1665. This short paper deals with how to estimate the population of England through a national census using sampling techniques. Population growth and mortality rates as related to economic growth were of interest to members of the Royal Society including John Graunt and Sir William Petty. Corbet gathered information about deaths and the age of the deceased in the parish of St Chad near Shrewsbury for the period between 1676 and 1682, and drew up a mortality table by age-group and gender. Corbet’s is possibly the first attempt to draw up such a table in England. It is unclear when this paper arrived at the Royal Society. It remained unpublished and appears to have been unknown by Edmond Halley, who used mortality rates for the evaluation of life annuities.
Related fellows
Richard Corbet (British) , Politician
Associated place