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SykoChikka
07-19-2005, 09:55 AM
Hi, I was just wondering who the first actuary was. Or was it a first group of actuaries? What got the whole thing started? Was it a movement or an economic crisis? I'd like to hear your thoughts...

Thanks!
Avi
07-19-2005, 10:00 AM
I believe it was Noah, who succesfully calculated \Large _1q_x for all living creatures outside the ark as 0 once the flood began.
Maine-iac
07-19-2005, 10:20 AM
Depends on how you define "actuary". If you mean who first published mortality calculations, then strong contenders would be John Graunt, who presented to the Royal Society in January of 1662 his Natural and Political Observations on the Bills of Mortality, or Edmund Halley, who published the Breslau table in the 1690s.

If you mean the first person who computed mortality data for a commercial insurance enterprise, you would probably be looking at Britain in the mid-1800s. I read somewhere once who coined the term "actuary" for what they did, but the name escapes me and I lost the book in an unfortunate basement water incident.

You might want to check out Moorhead's "All Our Yesterdays" for a history of actuaries in North America.
Colymbosathon ecplecticos
07-19-2005, 10:23 AM
I believe it was Noah, who succesfully calculated \Large _1q_x for all living creatures outside the ark as 1 once the flood began.

IFYQ
Avi
07-19-2005, 10:28 AM
IFYQ
:oops:

Course 3 is a distant memory for me.

Thanks.
11pecans
07-19-2005, 10:32 AM
IFYQ The 0 was right but he misplaced his p's and q's.
Almost Insane
07-19-2005, 11:24 AM
I believe the first actuary was a man called Terry "Hulk" Hogan of the WWF
Emily
07-19-2005, 11:59 AM
Interest theory was around in the 17th century. Don't know any names. Christian Huygens published an early paper on probability theory in the 17th century. John Graunt did the first mortality study, also in the 17th century. Pensions and insurance are much older, so I guess someone was an actuary long before that, but perhaps not a very scientific one.
bm1729
07-19-2005, 12:00 PM
Brad Gile
Emily
07-19-2005, 12:06 PM
OK, I did a little research about the use of the term "actuary". It was first used by The Equitable, which was the first company to use scientifically derived premium rates for life insurance. They started using the term in 1762 to mean what it currently means. The method they used to calculate the premium was developed by John Dodson, but it was based on earlier work by Edmond Halley (the comet guy). I would probably call one of those two guys the first actuary.
SykoChikka
07-19-2005, 12:16 PM
Wow, interestin stuff!! Thanks y'all! :) Knowledge is half the battle, n now I know...
1695814
07-19-2005, 12:23 PM
Brad Gile:lol:

;-)
joeorez
07-19-2005, 03:03 PM
According to the Proceedings of the Casualty Actuarial Society, 1986, page 219, the first actuary was a casualty actuary, not a life actuary, named Joseph.

http://www.casact.org/pubs/proceed/proceed86/86219.pdf

The Proceedings article refers to Genesis, Chapter 41, beginning line 29.
desiactuary
07-19-2005, 03:46 PM
According to the Proceedings of the Casualty Actuarial Society, 1986, page 219, the first actuary was a casualty actuary, not a life actuary, named Joseph.

http://www.casact.org/pubs/proceed/proceed86/86219.pdf

The Proceedings article refers to Genesis, Chapter 41, beginning line 29.

WOW, this is great info.

Thanks a lot everyone!
Incredible Hulctuary
07-19-2005, 06:56 PM
Who was the first Fellow of the CAS or SOA? Did he/she have to pass exams, or did the founders just grandfather themselves in?
Will Durant
07-19-2005, 07:32 PM
Actuarial Society of America

Started with 38 charter fellows in 1889 (no exam). Fellowship (and in 1896-1899 Associateship) was granted by vote of the council only. Examinations were approved in 1896 and first administered in 1900.

American Institute of Actuaries

Started with 42 charter fellows and 22 charter associates in 1909 (no exams). Exams started shortly thereafter (don't know the exact year and couldn't find it on the web - does anybody know the answer?)

Casualty Actuarial Society

Started with 97 charter fellows in 1914 (no exams). The first associateship exam was administered in 1915, and the first fellowship exam was administered in 1916.
Will Durant
07-19-2005, 07:33 PM
Hey, I see a pattern here. I say we create the ASUSA and designate ourselves as fellows and then start giving exams. Who's with me?
SykoChikka
07-19-2005, 08:26 PM
Hey, I see a pattern here. I say we create the ASUSA and designate ourselves as fellows and then start giving exams. Who's with me?

Hahah sounds good!! Wish I could have been alive then....would have been nice not to go thru exams...
Incredible Hulctuary
07-20-2005, 09:48 AM
Hahah sounds good!! Wish I could have been alive then....would have been nice not to go thru exams...Except that you would be dead now.
SykoChikka
07-20-2005, 01:56 PM
Except that you would be dead now.

Hehe well the world WAS simpler...but don't get me wrong I'd rather be a female actuary now than in those days...
Maine-iac
07-20-2005, 02:43 PM
First female actuary in the U.S. was Lucy Jane Wright (daughter of the famed Elizur Wright). She worked for Union Mutual (now UnumProvident) but died in her 30's (from TB, IIRC). Can't find the exact dates, but probably 1860s or 1870s.

There are definite advantages to the 21st century. :-(
Sam Cox
07-20-2005, 03:12 PM
From http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Gauss.html

``(Carl Friedrich) Gauss spent the years from 1845 to 1851 updating the Göttingen University widow's fund. This work gave him practical experience in financial matters, and he went on to make his fortune through shrewd investments in bonds issued by private companies. ''

I read in another biography years ago that this work included mortality as well as interest calculations. This is actuarial work, clearly, but not often mentioned. Biographers probably find it unimportant relative to his contributions to mathematics, physics, statistics, etc.
Malik Shabazz
07-20-2005, 03:19 PM
From http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Gauss.html

``(Carl Friedrich) Gauss spent the years from 1845 to 1851 updating the Göttingen University widow's fund. This work gave him practical experience in financial matters, and he went on to make his fortune through shrewd investments in bonds issued by private companies. ''

I read in another biography years ago that this work included mortality as well as interest calculations. This is actuarial work, clearly, but not often mentioned. Biographers probably find it unimportant relative to his contributions to mathematics, physics, statistics, etc.There is often a bias toward "pure" science as opposed to applied science, engineering, and practical applications.
goldmember
07-22-2005, 07:26 AM
...The method they used to calculate the premium was developed by John Dodson, but it was based on earlier work by Edmond Halley (the comet guy). I would probably call one of those two guys the first actuary.

i agree with you Emily.
Vorian Atreides
07-23-2005, 11:10 PM
According to the Proceedings of the Casualty Actuarial Society, 1986, page 219, the first actuary was a casualty actuary, not a life actuary, named Joseph.

http://www.casact.org/pubs/proceed/proceed86/86219.pdf

The Proceedings article refers to Genesis, Chapter 41, beginning line 29.

Actually, the Noah reference is much older (reference is Genesis chapter 8 and 9).

Looks like the life actuary is still first.:duh:

(BTW, I'm P&C myself)