Karl Pearson

Karl Pearson ( born March 27, 1857 in London, † April 27, 1936 in Coldharbour, Surrey ) was a British mathematician. His son Egon Pearson (1895-1980) was also a statistician.

Academic work

Pearson studied mathematics at Cambridge and worked intensively with philosophical and theological issues. Subsequent visits in Heidelberg and Berlin took Pearson, among others for the study of physics, metaphysics and the German literature. He was considered an expert in many different branches of science ( eg mathematics, physics, German literature, law, theology and history). His scientific contribution to the statistics made ​​Pearson popular ( see, eg, correlation coefficient). He is also considered one of the great early pioneers of psychology.

After his death in 1978 published his lectures on history of statistics in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Eugenics and racial theories

Bernard Semmel wrote about Pearson: "He was primarily a National Socialist. " Pearson was convinced that a nation " must be a homogeneous whole, not a mixture of high quality and inferior races." This he understood as a scientific view of the phenomenon of the nation. A nation must ensure " the recruitment of its members [ ...] from the best breeding stock " and prove to be competitive, " mainly through war with inferior races."

In the debate on immigration of Jews to the United Kingdom, Pearson positioned on the side of the opponents. Pearson came to the conclusion:

Awards

In 1896 he was elected as a member ( "Fellow" ) to the Royal Society, which honored him in 1898 with the Darwin Medal.

The asteroid ( 29458 ) Pearson was named after him.

Writings

• National Life from the Standpoint of Science. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1900. 2nd edition 1905.
• About the purpose and importance of a national eugenics ( National Eugenics ) for the state: 14 Robert Boyle Lecture, held in front of the " Oxford University Junior Science Club" on May 17, 1907 1908