The Royal Statistical Society (RSS) is an established statistical society. It has three main roles: a British

learned society A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and science. Membership ...

for

statistics Statistics (from German: '' Statistik'', "description of a state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data. In applying statistics to a scientific, indust ...

, a

professional body A professional association (also called a professional body, professional organization, or professional society) usually seeks to advocacy, further a particular profession, the interests of individuals and organisations engaged in that professio ...

for statisticians and a charity which promotes statistics for the public good.

History

The society was founded in 1834 as the Statistical Society of London, though a perhaps unrelated London Statistical Society was in existence at least as early as 1824. At that time there were many provincial statistics societies throughout Britain, but most have not survived. The

Manchester Statistical Society The Manchester Statistical Society is a learned society founded in 1833 in Manchester, England. It has a distinguished history, having played an important part in researching economic and social conditions using social surveys. It continues to ...

(which is older than the LSS) is a notable exception. The associations were formed with the object of gathering information about society. The idea of statistics referred more to political knowledge rather than a series of methods. The members called themselves "statists" and the original aim was "...procuring, arranging and publishing facts to illustrate the condition and prospects of society" and the idea of interpreting data, or having opinions, was explicitly excluded. The original

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to imp ...

had the motto ''Aliis Exterendum'' (for others to thresh out, i.e. interpret) but this separation was found to be a hindrance and the motto was dropped in later logos. It was many decades before mathematics was regarded as part of the statistical project.

Fellows

Fellowship of the Royal Statistical Society is open to anyone with an interest in statistics. It is not restricted to only those with high achievement within the discipline. This distinguishes it from other learned societies, where usually the fellow grade is the highest grade in that discipline.

Key figures

Instrumental in founding the Statistical Society of London were Richard Jones,

Charles Babbage Charles Babbage (; 26 December 1791 – 18 October 1871) was an English polymath. A mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer, Babbage originated the concept of a digital programmable computer. Babbage is considered ...

Adolphe Quetelet Lambert Adolphe Jacques Quetelet FRSF or FRSE (; 22 February 1796 – 17 February 1874) was a Belgian astronomer, mathematician, statistician and sociologist who founded and directed the Brussels Observatory and was influential in intro ...

William Whewell William Whewell ( ; 24 May 17946 March 1866) was an English polymath, scientist, Anglican priest, philosopher, theologian, and historian of science. He was Master of Trinity College, Cambridge. In his time as a student there, he achieved ...

Thomas Malthus Thomas Robert Malthus (; 13/14 February 1766 – 29 December 1834) was an English cleric, scholar and influential economist in the fields of political economy and demography. In his 1798 book ''An Essay on the Principle of Population'', Mal ...

, and William Henry Sykes. Among its famous members was

Florence Nightingale Florence Nightingale (; 12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during the Crimean War ...

, who was the society's first female member in 1858. Stella Cunliffe was the first female president. Other notable RSS presidents have included

William Beveridge William Henry Beveridge, 1st Baron Beveridge, (5 March 1879 – 16 March 1963) was a British economist and Liberal politician who was a progressive and social reformer who played a central role in designing the British welfare state. His 1942 ...

Ronald Fisher Sir Ronald Aylmer Fisher (17 February 1890 – 29 July 1962) was a British polymath who was active as a mathematician, statistician, biologist, geneticist, and academic. For his work in statistics, he has been described as "a genius who ...

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from October 1964 to June 1970, and again from March 1974 to April 1976. He ...

, and David Cox. Honorary Secretaries include

Gerald Goodhardt Gerald Goodhardt (1930 - 7 May 2020) was a marketing scientist. Career Professor Goodhardt began his career working as a statistician for Attwood Panels, and later Aske Research with Andrew Ehrenberg. From 1981-95 he was Sir John E Cohen Profe ...

(1982–88).

Royal Charter

The LSS became the RSS (Royal Statistical Society) by

Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, b ...

in 1887, and merged with the

Institute of Statisticians The Institute of Statisticians was a British professional organization founded in 1948 to protect the interests of professional statisticians. It was originally named ''The Association of Incorporated Statisticians Limited'', but this was later ch ...

in 1993. The merger enabled the society to take on the role of a professional body as well as that of a learned society. As of 2019 the society claims more than 10,000 members around the world, of whom some 1,500 are professionally qualified, with the status of

Chartered Statistician Chartered Statistician (CStat) is a professional qualification in Statistics awarded to practising professional statisticians by the Royal Statistical Society in the United Kingdom. A Chartered Statistician may use the post-nominal letters CStat ...

(CStat). In January 2009, the RSS received Licensed Body status from the UK Science Council to award Chartered Scientist status. Since February 2009 the society has awarded Chartered Scientist status to suitably qualified members. Unusually among

professional societies A professional association (also called a professional body, professional organization, or professional society) usually seeks to further a particular profession, the interests of individuals and organisations engaged in that profession, and th ...

, all members of the RSS are known as "

Fellows Fellows may refer to Fellow, in plural form. Fellows or Fellowes may also refer to: Places *Fellows, California, USA *Fellows, Wisconsin, ghost town, USA Other uses *Fellows Auctioneers, established in 1876. * Fellowes, Inc., manufacturer of wor ...

". Fellowship is nowadays not usually used by post-merger members as a

post-nominal Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, post-nominal titles, designatory letters or simply post-nominals, are letters placed after a person's name to indicate that the individual holds a position, academic degree, accreditation, ...

mark of distinction. However, before the 1993 merger with the

, Fellows did often use the post-nominal letters FSS. Before the merger, Fellows were required to have a statistical qualification. The alternative route was to be proposed by two Fellows. The nomination paper then had to be approved by the

Council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...

. After the merger these requirements were dropped and all the previous members of the Institute of Statisticians became Fellows as well. Since then, use by new members of their unearned post-nominal FSS qualification was viewed as inappropriateProfessional membership pages on the RSS website: and and strongly discouraged, and it became less common.

Structure

The RSS has premises (including offices and meeting rooms) in Errol Street, EC1, in the

London Borough of Islington The London Borough of Islington ( ) is a London borough in Inner London. Whilst the majority of the district is located in north London, the borough also includes a significant area to the south which forms part of central London. Islington has ...

close to the boundary with the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

, between

Old Street Old Street is a street in inner north-east Central London that runs west to east from Goswell Road in Clerkenwell, in the London Borough of Islington, via St Luke's and Old Street Roundabout, to the crossroads where it meets Shoreditch High ...

and

Barbican station Barbican is a London Underground station situated near the Barbican Estate, on the edge of the ward of Farringdon Within, in the City of London in Central London. It has been known by various names since its opening in 1865, mostly in referen ...

s. The society has various local groups in the UK, together with a wide range of topic-related sections and special interest groups. Each of these sections and groups organises lectures and seminars on statistical topics.

Functions

The society was particularly engaged with the passage of the

Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 The Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 (c 18) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which established the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA). It came into force in April 2008. Sir Michael Scholar was appointed as the first Cha ...

, having long argued for legislation on statistics.

Events

The RSS organises an annual conference. Among the society's awards are the

Guy Medal The Guy Medals are awarded by the Royal Statistical Society in three categories; Gold, Silver and Bronze. The Silver and Bronze medals are awarded annually. The Gold Medal was awarded every three years between 1987 and 2011, but is awarded biennia ...

s in gold, silver and bronze, in honour of William Guy. The RSS team reached the finals of ''

University Challenge ''University Challenge'' is a British television quiz programme which first aired in 1962. ''University Challenge'' aired for 913 episodes on ITV from 21 September 1962 to 31 December 1987, presented by quizmaster Bamber Gascoigne. The BBC ...

: The Professionals 2006'', where they were beaten 230 to 125 by a team from the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the sec ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

Publications

The society publishes the ''

Journal of the Royal Statistical Society The ''Journal of the Royal Statistical Society'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal of statistics. It comprises three series and is published by Wiley for the Royal Statistical Society. History The Statistical Society of London was founded ...

'', which currently consists of three separate series of journals whose contents include papers presented at ordinary meetings of the society, namely Series A (''Statistics in Society''), Series B (''Statistical Methodology'') and Series C (''Applied Statistics''), as well as a general audience magazine called '' Significance'' published in conjunction with the

American Statistical Association The American Statistical Association (ASA) is the main professional organization for statisticians and related professionals in the United States. It was founded in Boston, Massachusetts on November 27, 1839, and is the second oldest continuousl ...

. In September 2013, the society established ''StatsLife'', an online magazine website that features news, interviews and opinion from the world of statistics and data.

References

External links

* * *
MacTutor: The Royal Statistical Society

Video clips

* {{authority control Organizations established in 1834 Statistical organisations in the United Kingdom Learned societies of the United Kingdom

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. ...

Organisations based in the London Borough of Islington 1834 establishments in the United Kingdom Organisations based in London Fellows of the Royal Statistical Society