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Johann Heinrich Lambert (1728–1777)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 April 2012

R. H. Daw
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Extract

1.1. This paper is intended as a tribute to a man who died at the age of 49 just over 200 years ago having made material contributions to what is now regarded as actuarial science, as well as to many other branches of science, but whose work has largely been overlooked.

1.2. Johann Heinrich Lambert was born in Mulhouse, Alsace on 26 August 1728 and died in Berlin on 25 September 1777. He was largely self-taught, having had to leave school at the age of 12 to help his father in his tailor's shop. At the age of 20 he became tutor to the children of a noble Swiss family; this ended 10 years later when he had taken the children on an educational tour of Europe during which he was able to meet eminent scientists of the time and go to lectures at universities and learned societies. Eventually, in 1765, he obtained a post at the Royal Academy of Sciences in Berlin where he stayed until his death.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Institute of Actuaries , Volume 107 , Issue 3 , September 1980 , pp. 345 - 363
Copyright
Copyright © Institute and Faculty of Actuaries 1980

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