James Dodson
Encyclopedia
James Dodson FRS was a British
mathematician
, actuary
and innovator in the insurance
industry.
, in his Mémoire sur la vie et sur les écrits de M. A. de Moivre, wrote that Dodson was a pupil of Abraham de Moivre
. He worked as an accountant
and teacher
. In 1752 George Parker, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield
, a friend of Dodson, became President of the Royal Society
, and Dodson was elected a Fellow on 16 January 1755. On 7 August of the same year he was elected master of the Royal Mathematical School
, Christ's Hospital
, and also of Stone's School there. Dodson died 23 November 1757, being then over forty-seven years of age. He lived at Bell Dock, Wapping
.
that would be more "equitable". Dodson built on the statistical mortality tables developed by Edmund Halley in 1693. Equitable Life, as it was to be, charged premiums aimed at correctly offsetting the risks of long term life assurance policies. But Dodson made only unsuccessful attempts to procure a charter. The Equitable Life Assurance Society was founded in 1762 to put the actuarial principles that Dodson had developed over the previous decade into practice, by a group of mathematicians and others including Edward Rowe Mores
.
In 1742 Dodson published ‘The Anti-Logarithmic Canon. Being a table of numbers consisting of eleven places of figures, corresponding to all Logarithms under 100,000, with an Introduction containing a short account of Logarithms.’ This was a unique tabulation until 1849. The canon had been actually calculated, it is said, by Walter Warner
and John Pell
, in the period 1630 to 1640. Its provenance
was that Warner had left it to Herbert Thorndike
, at whose death it came to Richard Busby
, and finally was bought for the Royal Society; but for some years it has been lost. In a letter of Pell's, 7 August 1644, written to Sir Charles Cavendish, it is said that Warner became bankrupt, and Pell surmises that the manuscript would be destroyed by the creditors in ignorance.
In 1747 Dodson published ‘The Calculator … adapted to Science, Business, and Pleasure.’ It is a large collection of small tables, with some seven-figure logarithms. This he dedicated to William Jones. The same year he started the publication of ‘The Mathematical Miscellany,’ containing analytical and algebraic solutions of a large number of problems in various branches of mathematics. His preface to vol. i is dated 14 January 1747, the title giving 1748. This volume is dedicated to de Moivre, and a second edition was issued by his publisher in 1775. Vol. ii (1753) is dedicated to David Papillon, and contains a contribution by de Moivre. Vol. iii (1755) he dedicated to Macclesfield and the Royal Society. This volume is devoted to problems relating to annuities, reversions, insurances, leases on lives, etc.. His ‘Accountant, or a Method of Book-keeping,’ was published 1750, with a dedication to Macclesfield. In 1751 he edited Edmund Wingate
's ‘Arithmetic,’ which had previously been edited by John Kersey and then by George Shelley.
Another work, ‘An Account of the Methods used to describe Lines on Dr. Halley's Chart of the terraqueous Globe, showing the variation of the magnetic needle about the year 1756 in all the known seas, &c. By Wm. Mountaine and James Dodson,’ about isogons, was published in 1758, after Dodson's death.
15 Dec. 1757 a petition was read from William Mountaine, where it was stated that Dodson died ‘in very mean circumstances, leaving three motherless children unprovided for, viz. James, aged 15, Thomas, aged 11 and three quarters, and Elizabeth, aged 8.’ The two youngest were admitted into the hospital. After the Equitable Society had started, and fifteen years or more after Dodson's death, a resolution was put in the minutes for giving £300 to the children of Dodson, as a recompense for the ‘Tables of Lives’ which their father had prepared for the society. Dodson's eldest son, James the younger (maternal grandfather of Augustus De Morgan
), succeeded to the actuaryship of the society in 1764, but in 1767 left for the custom house
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
, actuary
Actuary
An actuary is a business professional who deals with the financial impact of risk and uncertainty. Actuaries provide expert assessments of financial security systems, with a focus on their complexity, their mathematics, and their mechanisms ....
and innovator in the insurance
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
industry.
Life
Matthew MatyMatthew Maty
Matthew Maty , originally Matthieu Maty, was a Dutch physician and writer of Huguenot background, and after migration to England secretary of the Royal Society and the second principal librarian of the British Museum.-Early life:...
, in his Mémoire sur la vie et sur les écrits de M. A. de Moivre, wrote that Dodson was a pupil of Abraham de Moivre
Abraham de Moivre
Abraham de Moivre was a French mathematician famous for de Moivre's formula, which links complex numbers and trigonometry, and for his work on the normal distribution and probability theory. He was a friend of Isaac Newton, Edmund Halley, and James Stirling...
. He worked as an accountant
Accountant
An accountant is a practitioner of accountancy or accounting , which is the measurement, disclosure or provision of assurance about financial information that helps managers, investors, tax authorities and others make decisions about allocating resources.The Big Four auditors are the largest...
and teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
. In 1752 George Parker, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield
George Parker, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield
George Parker, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield, FRS was an English peer and astronomer.Styled Viscount Parker from 1721 to 1732, he was Member of Parliament for Wallingford from 1722 to 1727, but his interests were not in politics...
, a friend of Dodson, became President of the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
, and Dodson was elected a Fellow on 16 January 1755. On 7 August of the same year he was elected master of the Royal Mathematical School
Royal Mathematical School
Royal Mathematical School is a branch of Christ's Hospital, founded by Charles II. It is currently Christ's Hospital's Maths Department.-History:...
, Christ's Hospital
Christ's Hospital
Christ's Hospital is an English coeducational independent day and boarding school with Royal Charter located in the Sussex countryside just south of Horsham in Horsham District, West Sussex, England...
, and also of Stone's School there. Dodson died 23 November 1757, being then over forty-seven years of age. He lived at Bell Dock, Wapping
Wapping
Wapping is a place in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets which forms part of the Docklands to the east of the City of London. It is situated between the north bank of the River Thames and the ancient thoroughfare simply called The Highway...
.
Actuarial legacy
Having been refused admission to the Amicable Life Assurance Society, because they took no one over 45, he decided to form a new society on a plan of assuranceAssurance
Assurance may refer to:* Assurance services, offered by accountancy firms to improve the quality of information* Assurance , a Protestant Christian doctrine...
that would be more "equitable". Dodson built on the statistical mortality tables developed by Edmund Halley in 1693. Equitable Life, as it was to be, charged premiums aimed at correctly offsetting the risks of long term life assurance policies. But Dodson made only unsuccessful attempts to procure a charter. The Equitable Life Assurance Society was founded in 1762 to put the actuarial principles that Dodson had developed over the previous decade into practice, by a group of mathematicians and others including Edward Rowe Mores
Edward Rowe Mores
Edward Rowe Mores, FSA was an English antiquarian and scholar, with works on history and typography...
.
Works
As a mathematician he is known chiefly by his work on ‘The Anti-Logarithmic Canon’ and ‘The Mathematical Miscellany.’In 1742 Dodson published ‘The Anti-Logarithmic Canon. Being a table of numbers consisting of eleven places of figures, corresponding to all Logarithms under 100,000, with an Introduction containing a short account of Logarithms.’ This was a unique tabulation until 1849. The canon had been actually calculated, it is said, by Walter Warner
Walter Warner
Walter Warner was an English mathematician and scientist.-Life:He was born in Leicestershire and educated at Merton College, Oxford, graduating B.A. in 1578....
and John Pell
John Pell
-Early life:He was born at Southwick in Sussex. He was educated at Steyning Grammar School, and entered Trinity College, Cambridge, at the age of thirteen. During his university career he became an accomplished linguist, and even before he took his B.A. degree corresponded with Henry Briggs and...
, in the period 1630 to 1640. Its provenance
Provenance
Provenance, from the French provenir, "to come from", refers to the chronology of the ownership or location of an historical object. The term was originally mostly used for works of art, but is now used in similar senses in a wide range of fields, including science and computing...
was that Warner had left it to Herbert Thorndike
Herbert Thorndike
Herbert Thorndike was an English academic and clergyman, known as an orientalist and Canon of Westminster Abbey. He was an influential theological writer during the reigns of King Charles I and, after the Restoration, King Charles II...
, at whose death it came to Richard Busby
Richard Busby
The Rev. Dr. Richard Busby was an English Anglican priest who served as head master of Westminster School for more than fifty-five years.-Life:...
, and finally was bought for the Royal Society; but for some years it has been lost. In a letter of Pell's, 7 August 1644, written to Sir Charles Cavendish, it is said that Warner became bankrupt, and Pell surmises that the manuscript would be destroyed by the creditors in ignorance.
In 1747 Dodson published ‘The Calculator … adapted to Science, Business, and Pleasure.’ It is a large collection of small tables, with some seven-figure logarithms. This he dedicated to William Jones. The same year he started the publication of ‘The Mathematical Miscellany,’ containing analytical and algebraic solutions of a large number of problems in various branches of mathematics. His preface to vol. i is dated 14 January 1747, the title giving 1748. This volume is dedicated to de Moivre, and a second edition was issued by his publisher in 1775. Vol. ii (1753) is dedicated to David Papillon, and contains a contribution by de Moivre. Vol. iii (1755) he dedicated to Macclesfield and the Royal Society. This volume is devoted to problems relating to annuities, reversions, insurances, leases on lives, etc.. His ‘Accountant, or a Method of Book-keeping,’ was published 1750, with a dedication to Macclesfield. In 1751 he edited Edmund Wingate
Edmund Wingate
Edmund Wingate was an English mathematical and legal writer, one of the first to publish in the 1620s on the principle of the slide rule, and later the author of some popular expository works...
's ‘Arithmetic,’ which had previously been edited by John Kersey and then by George Shelley.
Another work, ‘An Account of the Methods used to describe Lines on Dr. Halley's Chart of the terraqueous Globe, showing the variation of the magnetic needle about the year 1756 in all the known seas, &c. By Wm. Mountaine and James Dodson,’ about isogons, was published in 1758, after Dodson's death.
Family
His three children were left unprovided for. At a meeting of the general court holden in Christ's HospitalChrist's Hospital
Christ's Hospital is an English coeducational independent day and boarding school with Royal Charter located in the Sussex countryside just south of Horsham in Horsham District, West Sussex, England...
15 Dec. 1757 a petition was read from William Mountaine, where it was stated that Dodson died ‘in very mean circumstances, leaving three motherless children unprovided for, viz. James, aged 15, Thomas, aged 11 and three quarters, and Elizabeth, aged 8.’ The two youngest were admitted into the hospital. After the Equitable Society had started, and fifteen years or more after Dodson's death, a resolution was put in the minutes for giving £300 to the children of Dodson, as a recompense for the ‘Tables of Lives’ which their father had prepared for the society. Dodson's eldest son, James the younger (maternal grandfather of Augustus De Morgan
Augustus De Morgan
Augustus De Morgan was a British mathematician and logician. He formulated De Morgan's laws and introduced the term mathematical induction, making its idea rigorous. The crater De Morgan on the Moon is named after him....
), succeeded to the actuaryship of the society in 1764, but in 1767 left for the custom house
Custom House
A custom house or customs house was a building housing the offices for the government officials who processed the paperwork for the import and export of goods into and out of a country. Customs officials also collected customs duty on imported goods....
.