Adolphe Quetelet, the father of modern statistics

This mathematician's extraordinary life began in the Napoleonic era, continued under Dutch rule, and culminated in the new Belgium. Quetelet's many activities were linked to astronomy, statistics and sociology. His work made him one of the most influential scientists of his time, whose influence is still felt today.

Adolphe Quetelet, whose full name was Lambert Adolphe Jacques Quetelet, was born in Ghent on 22 February 1796.

After receiving a doctorate in mathematics from Ghent University in 1819 for his thesis on the theory of conic sections, he taught mathematics in Ghent and Brussels.

In 1823, he visited the Paris Observatory, where he met François Arago and Alexis Bouvard. He was influenced by Laplace, Poisson and Fourier, with whom he studied statistics, a discipline he later elevated to the rank of a science.

In 1828, he succeeded in persuading the authorities and in raising public and private funds to set up an observatory in Brussels, which he ran from 1832 onwards. Two years later, he became Permanent Secretary of the Royal Academy of Belgium.

Adolphe Quetelet founded several statistical societies and journals, including the Transactions of the Statistical Society of London in 1837. He was particularly involved in creating international cooperation among statisticians.

As a result, in 1853, he chaired the first International Statistical Congress, held in Brussels. That same year, he also took part in the first International Maritime Conference in Brussels, aimed at promoting the exchange of meteorological data. This cooperation led to the establishment of the International Meteorological Organization in 1873.

His name is associated with his theory of "l'homme moyen" ("the average man"), which critics E. Durkheim and particularly M. Halbwachs discredited in their day. However, from the 1960s onwards, thanks to P. Lazarsfeld's influence, Quetelet's place in the history of social sciences is better recognised today. In fact, he was the first to undertake the programme outlined by Condorcet and Laplace: applying the calculus of probabilities to the study of the social universe. He is also credited with developing procedures that herald some of today's use of quasi-experimental reasoning. Finally, he played a prominent role on the international stage by coordinating and standardising the collection and processing of statistical data.

In 1935, the illustrious historian of science G. Sarton even deemed Adolphe Quetelet, not Auguste Comte, to be the true "founder of sociology".

He died on 17 February 1874 and is buried in the Brussels Cemetery.