Famous British Statisticians

Ronald Fisher was a British polymath, statistician, geneticist, mathematician, and academic. He is credited to have single-handedly created the foundations for modern statistical science. He made important contributions to the field of genetics and is known as one of the three principal founders of population genetics. He was elected to the Royal Society in 1929. 

One of the greatest statisticians of all time, Karl Pearson established the first university-level statistics department at UCL and also launched the statistics-oriented journal Biometrika. He was also well-versed in law and believed in eugenics. His The Grammar of Science later inspired Albert Einstein and other scientists.

A pioneer of the mathematical method in economics, William Stanley Jevons was the son of an iron merchant and economic enthusiast. Remembered for his studies on marginal utility and supply/demand, he penned the iconic work A General Mathematical Theory of Political Economy and also wrote on Britain’s depleting coal supplies.

English agriculturist Arthur Young was a prolific English writer, particularly on agriculture. He earned repute for views he expressed as an agricultural improver, social observer and political economist. Young was a prominent opponent of British reformers. Some of his notable books are Annals of Agriculture, Tour in Ireland and Travels in France. The latter includes descriptions of the French Revolution.    

Born to a surveyor father, Gregory King initially assisted his father and then began working for John Ogilby as an engraver. The economic statistician not only lent his name to the Gregory King's Law but also contributed to most of the street layouts for London’s Soho.

Former British road race champion Matthew Stephens is a cycling legend. He has also had a 12-year stint in the police force and has worked in child protection, while balancing his cycling career. He once spoke publicly about his failed marriage and how not being able to see his son broke him emotionally.