John Graunt

John Graunt was a 17th-century English statistician and demographer, known for his pioneering work in the analysis of mortality data. He is often hailed as one of the founders of demography, particularly through his 1662 publication "Natural and Political Observations Made upon the Bills of Mortality." In it, he studied death records from London, revealing patterns and trends in population health and mortality rates. Graunt's innovative use of statistics laid the groundwork for the field of public health and helped inform government policy, making him a key figure in the development of modern statistics and epidemiology.