John Graunt was a shopkeeper in 17th-century London who followed his own curiosity to a rather grand result. His work gave rise to the fields of demography and epidemiology.

Research:
Berke, Olaf, et al. “Celebration day: 400th birthday of John Graunt, citizen scientist of London.” Environmental Health Review. 63(3): 67-69. 2020. https://doi.org/10.5864/d2020-018
Britannica Editors. "John Graunt". Encyclopedia Britannica, 20 Apr. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Graunt
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Sir William Petty." Encyclopedia Britannica, 11 Apr. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/money/William-Petty
Clark, Andrew. “Aubrey’s ‘Brief Lives.’” Oxford. Clarendon Press. 1898. https://dn790003.ca.archive.org/0/items/briefliveschiefl01aubruoft/briefliveschiefl01aubruoft.pdf
Connor, Henry. “John Graunt F.R.S. (1620-74): The founding father of human demography, epidemiology and vital statistics.” Journal of medical biography 32,1 (2024): 57-69. doi:10.1177/09677720221079826
Eschner, Kat. “People Have Been Using Big Data Since the 1600s.” Smithsonian. April 24, 2017. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/people-have-been-using-big-data-1600s-180962949/
Glass, D.V., et al. “John Graunt and His Natural and Political Observations [and Discussion].” Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences, Vol. 159, No. 974, A Discussion on Demography (Dec. 10, 1963), pp. 2-37 Published by: The Royal Society Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/90480
Graunt, John. “Natural and political observations mentioned in a following index, and made upon the Bills of mortality.” Oxford : Printed by William Hall, for John Martyn, and James Allestry, printers to the Royal Society MDCLXV [1665]. http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/2356017R
KARGON, ROBERT. “John Graunt, Francis Bacon, and the Royal Society: The Reception of Statistics.” Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences, vol. 18, no. 4, 1963, pp. 337–48. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/24621352
Kelsey, Holly. “Sovereign and the Sick City in 1603.” Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Aug. 23, 2016. https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/blogs/sovereign-and-sick-city-1603/
Lewin, C. G. "Graunt, John (1620–1674), statistician." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.  August 08, 2024. Oxford University Press. https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-11306
Pepys, Samuel. “The Diary of Samuel Pepys.” GEORGE BELL & SONS. London. 1893. Accessed online: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/4200/pg4200.txt
Smith, R.M. (2008). “Graunt, John (1620–1674).” The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_758-2

 

John Graunt was a shopkeeper in 17th-century London who followed his own curiosity to a rather grand result. His work gave rise to the fields of demography and epidemiology.
Research:
<ul>
<li>Berke,&nbsp;Olaf, et al. &ldquo;Celebration day: 400th birthday of John Graunt, citizen scientist of London.&rdquo;&nbsp;Environmental Health Review.&nbsp;63(3): 67-69.&nbsp;2020. https://doi.org/10.5864/d2020-018</li>
<li>Britannica Editors. "John Graunt".&nbsp;Encyclopedia Britannica, 20 Apr. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Graunt</li>
<li>Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia.&nbsp;"Sir William Petty."&nbsp;Encyclopedia Britannica,&nbsp;11 Apr. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/money/William-Petty</li>
<li>Clark, Andrew. &ldquo;Aubrey&rsquo;s &lsquo;Brief Lives.&rsquo;&rdquo; Oxford. Clarendon Press. 1898. https://dn790003.ca.archive.org/0/items/briefliveschiefl01aubruoft/briefliveschiefl01aubruoft.pdf</li>
<li>Connor, Henry. &ldquo;John Graunt F.R.S. (1620-74): The founding father of human demography, epidemiology and vital statistics.&rdquo;&nbsp;Journal of medical biography 32,1 (2024): 57-69. doi:10.1177/09677720221079826</li>
<li>Eschner, Kat. &ldquo;People Have Been Using Big Data Since the 1600s.&rdquo; Smithsonian. April 24, 2017. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/people-have-been-using-big-data-1600s-180962949/</li>
<li>Glass, D.V., et al. &ldquo;John Graunt and His Natural and Political Observations [and Discussion].&rdquo; Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences, Vol. 159, No. 974, A Discussion on Demography (Dec. 10, 1963), pp. 2-37 Published by: The Royal Society Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/90480</li>
<li>Graunt, John. &ldquo;Natural and political observations mentioned in a following index, and made upon the Bills of mortality.&rdquo; Oxford : Printed by William Hall, for John Martyn, and James Allestry, printers to the Royal Society MDCLXV [1665]. http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/2356017R</li>
<li>KARGON, ROBERT. &ldquo;John Graunt, Francis Bacon, and the Royal Society: The Reception of Statistics.&rdquo;&nbsp;Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences, vol. 18, no. 4, 1963, pp. 337&ndash;48.&nbsp;JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/24621352</li>
<li>Kelsey, Holly. &ldquo;Sovereign and the Sick City in 1603.&rdquo; Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Aug. 23, 2016. https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/blogs/sovereign-and-sick-city-1603/</li>
<li>Lewin, C. G. "Graunt, John (1620&ndash;1674), statistician."&nbsp;Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.&nbsp;&nbsp;August&nbsp;08,&nbsp;2024. Oxford University Press. https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-11306</li>
<li>Pepys, Samuel. &ldquo;The Diary of Samuel Pepys.&rdquo; GEORGE BELL &amp; SONS. London. 1893. Accessed online: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/4200/pg4200.txt</li>
<li>Smith, R.M. (2008). &ldquo;Graunt, John (1620&ndash;1674).&rdquo; The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_758-2</li>
</ul>
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John Graunt was a shopkeeper in 17th-century London who followed his own curiosity to a rather grand result. His work gave rise to the fields of demography and epidemiology.

John Graunt

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