William Matthew Makeham (11 September 1826 – 17 November 1891) was an English

actuary An actuary is a professional with advanced mathematical skills who deals with the measurement and management of risk and uncertainty. These risks can affect both sides of the balance sheet and require investment management, asset management, ...

and

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

. Makeham was responsible for proposing the age-independent Makeham term in the

Gompertz–Makeham law of mortality The Gompertz–Makeham law states that the human death rate is the sum of an age-dependent component (the Gompertz function, named after Benjamin Gompertz), which increases exponentially with age, and an age-independent component (the Makeham ...

that, together with the exponentially age-dependent Gompertz term, was one of the most effective theories to describe human mortality. Makeham was responsible for two important studies on human mortality:Wolfram Mathworld
"Makeham Curve"
/ref> * * He had one wife, Hepzibah Reed, and seven children, William, Amy, Elizabeth, Thomas, Frederick, Emily, and George.

References

English mathematicians British actuaries 1826 births 1891 deaths 19th-century English businesspeople {{UK-mathematician-stub