Bernard Benjamin (8 March 1910 – 15 May 2002) was a noted

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

health statistician, actuary and

demographer Demography () is the statistical study of populations, especially human beings. Demographic analysis examines and measures the dimensions and dynamics of populations; it can cover whole societies or groups defined by criteria such as ed ...

. He was author or co-author of at least six books and over 100 papers in learned journals. He was born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and studied

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

part-time at Sir John Cass College while working as an actuary for the

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

pension fund, later moving to the

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...

section. Following wartime service as a statistician in the

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

he returned to the same civilian job and studied part-time for a PhD on the analysis of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

mortality. He was appointed Chief Statistician at the

General Register Office General Register Office or General Registry Office (GRO) is the name given to the civil registry in the United Kingdom, many other Commonwealth nations and Ireland. The GRO is the government agency responsible for the recording of vital recor ...

in 1952, Director of Statistics at the Ministry of Health in 1963, then the first Director of the Intelligence Unit of the Greater London Council in 1966. In 1973, he became professor of actuarial science at City University, the first chair in actuarial science at an English university, where he designed the first undergraduate degree program in the subject in the country. He was secretary-general of the

International Union for the Scientific Study of Population International Union for the Scientific Study of Population is an international union for the study of human population, which was founded in 1928. References External links Official website International scientific organizations ...

from 1962 to 1963. He was president of the

Institute of Actuaries The Institute of Actuaries was one of the two professional bodies which represented actuaries in the United Kingdom. The institute was based in England, while the other body, the Faculty of Actuaries, was based in Scotland. While the Institute an ...

from 1966 to 1968 and of the

Royal Statistical Society The Royal Statistical Society (RSS) is an established statistical society. It has three main roles: a British learned society for statistics, a professional body for statisticians and a charity which promotes statistics for the public good. ...

from 1970 to 1972, and was awarded the highest honours of both bodies – the Gold Medal (1975) and the Guy Medal in Gold (1986), respectively.

References

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External links

Portraits of statisticiansBernard Benjamin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benjamin, Bernard 1910 births 2002 deaths Academics of City, University of London British actuaries British demographers British statisticians Presidents of the Royal Statistical Society Royal Air Force personnel of World War II 20th-century British businesspeople Civil servants in the General Register Office