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Benjamin Gompertz: Wikis

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Benjamin Gompertz

Born March 5, 1779
London, England
Died July 14, 1865 (aged 86)
Nationality Great Britain
Fields Mathematics

Benjamin Gompertz (March 5, 1779 – July 14, 1865), was a self educated mathematician, denied admission to university because he was Jewish. Nevertheless he was made Fellow of the Royal Society in 1819. Gompertz is today mostly known for his Gompertz law (of mortality), a demographic model published in 1825. The model can be written in this way:

$N(t) = N(0) e^{-c (e^{at}-1)},\$

where N(t) represents the number of individuals at time t, and c and a are constants.

This model is a refinement of the demographic model of Malthus. It was used by insurance companies to calculate the cost of life insurance. The equation, known as a Gompertz curve, is now used in many areas to model a time series where growth is slowest at the start and end of a period.

Gompertz's descendant Simon Gompertz is an economics presenter for the BBC.

References

Benjamin Gompertz
Born March 5, 1779
London, England
Died July 14, 1865 (aged 86)
Nationality Great Britain
Fields Mathematics

Benjamin Gompertz (March 5, 1779 – July 14, 1865), was a self educated mathematician, denied admission to university because he was Jewish.[citation needed] Nevertheless he was made Fellow of the Royal Society in 1819. Gompertz is today mostly known for his Gompertz law (of mortality), a demographic model published in 1825. The model can be written in this way:

$N\left(t\right) = N\left(0\right) e^\left\{-c \left(e^\left\{at\right\}-1\right)\right\},\$

where N(t) represents the number of individuals at time t, and c and a are constants.

This model is a refinement of the demographic model of Malthus. It was used by insurance companies to calculate the cost of life insurance. The equation, known as a Gompertz curve, is now used in many areas to model a time series where growth is slowest at the start and end of a period.

Gompertz's descendant Simon Gompertz is an economics presenter for the BBC.