Griffith Davies
Encyclopedia
Griffith Davies was a noted actuary
.
Davies, son of Owen Davies, farmer and quarryman (1761–1854), was born at the foot of Cilgwyn mountain, in the parish of Llandwrog, Carnarvon
, on 28 Dec. 1788. He was taught to read and spell at a Welsh Sunday school. At the age of seven he commenced learning English at a school where he paid two shillings and sixpence per quarter. The poverty of his parents now obliged him to labour for his living, and until 1808 he worked as farm labourer, horse driver, and quarryman, obtaining, however, at intervals a small amount of education and improving his mind by private study.
Having saved a little money he left Wales
, and, arriving in London
on 15 Sept. 1809, attended a school to perfect himself in writing and grammar
, but took no special interest in any subject except arithmetic
. In January 1810 he obtained an engagement at Mr. Rainhall's school as teacher of arithmetic, at a salary of 20l., and there commenced calculating the times of the eclipses and exhibiting their mode of occurrence by diagrams. He opened a school of his own in the summer of 1811 in James Street, Old Street; in the following year moved into a better house in Lizard Street, Bartholomew Square, St. Luke's, and joined the Mathematical Society in Crispin Street, Spitalfields, where the extensive library was of much use to him. Meanwhile he corrected the press of a Welsh magazine then published, and wrote his ‘Key to Bonnycastle's Trigonometry’ (1814), which established his character as a mathematician.
After this he received private pupils, and among them a person connected with an assurance office desirous of studying the theory of life assurance. Davies had no knowledge of the subject, but soon mastered it. Sir John Franklin came to Davies after many years of service at sea to increase his knowledge of some of the higher branches of the science of navigation
. Davies now gave instruction to several gentlemen connected with insurance associations, and was employed to do work for some of the offices. William Morgan, the actuary of the Equitable, furnished him with a certificate of actuarial competency. In 1820 he received the large silver medal of the Society of Arts for a most ingenious sundial constructed by him. The Directors of the Guardian Assurance Company
applied to him for advice and assistance when drawing up their constitution, and he was engaged to construct the necessary tables. About the close of 1823 he was appointed the regular and permanent actuary of that company, an appointment which he held for nearly a third of a century. In the same year (1823) the Reversionary Interest Society was established, and for this company he constructed many elaborate and useful tables. In the first of his reports to the founders of that institution he announced that he had ‘ascertained upon indubitable evidence that a diminution had taken place in the mortality of Great Britain during the last hundred years.’ In 1825 he published ‘Tables of Life Contingencies, containing the rates of mortality among the members of the Equitable Society, and the value of life annuities, reversions, &c. computed therefrom; together with a more extensive scale of premiums for life assurance, deduced from the Northampton rate of mortality
, than any hitherto published, and the progressive values of life policies.’ Davies was the remodeller of George Barrett's columnar plan of constructing mortality tables, and so arranged his tables that they may almost be said to be a new discovery (WALFORD, Cyclopædia, i. 618–23). Davies's fame as an actuary became widely known.
In 1829 the directors of the East India Company
submitted the documents concerning the Bombay military fund for his investigation and report, and from this period up to 1851 he was constantly consulted regarding the various Indian funds. He wrote no less than twenty reports on these Indian funds, each containing extensive insurance tables. He was also engaged from time to time for the Bank of England. On 16 June 1831, on the recommendation of Mr.Benjamin Gompertz
, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. From about 1847 he suffered from a series of attacks of bronchitis
. On 5 Dec. 1854 he was seized with a paralytic stroke, and died at 25 Duncan Terrace, Islington, London
, 21 March 1855. He was married twice, and left a son and a daughter. Besides the works already mentioned he was also author of: 1. ‘Report and Valuation for the Madras Medical Fund, with numerous tables for its future guidance.’ 2. ‘Tables for the Use of Friendly Societies, by J. Finlaison. The tables compiled by G. Davies,’ 1847.
Actuary
An actuary is a business professional who deals with the financial impact of risk and uncertainty. Actuaries provide expert assessments of financial security systems, with a focus on their complexity, their mathematics, and their mechanisms ....
.
Davies, son of Owen Davies, farmer and quarryman (1761–1854), was born at the foot of Cilgwyn mountain, in the parish of Llandwrog, Carnarvon
Carnarvon
Carnarvon and Caernarvon are older forms of the name of the town in North Wales currently known as Caernarfon. The older names, in place for centuries, were anglicised phonetic spellings; since the 1970s the Welsh spelling has been generally adopted...
, on 28 Dec. 1788. He was taught to read and spell at a Welsh Sunday school. At the age of seven he commenced learning English at a school where he paid two shillings and sixpence per quarter. The poverty of his parents now obliged him to labour for his living, and until 1808 he worked as farm labourer, horse driver, and quarryman, obtaining, however, at intervals a small amount of education and improving his mind by private study.
Having saved a little money he left Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, and, arriving in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
on 15 Sept. 1809, attended a school to perfect himself in writing and grammar
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...
, but took no special interest in any subject except arithmetic
Arithmetic
Arithmetic or arithmetics is the oldest and most elementary branch of mathematics, used by almost everyone, for tasks ranging from simple day-to-day counting to advanced science and business calculations. It involves the study of quantity, especially as the result of combining numbers...
. In January 1810 he obtained an engagement at Mr. Rainhall's school as teacher of arithmetic, at a salary of 20l., and there commenced calculating the times of the eclipses and exhibiting their mode of occurrence by diagrams. He opened a school of his own in the summer of 1811 in James Street, Old Street; in the following year moved into a better house in Lizard Street, Bartholomew Square, St. Luke's, and joined the Mathematical Society in Crispin Street, Spitalfields, where the extensive library was of much use to him. Meanwhile he corrected the press of a Welsh magazine then published, and wrote his ‘Key to Bonnycastle's Trigonometry’ (1814), which established his character as a mathematician.
After this he received private pupils, and among them a person connected with an assurance office desirous of studying the theory of life assurance. Davies had no knowledge of the subject, but soon mastered it. Sir John Franklin came to Davies after many years of service at sea to increase his knowledge of some of the higher branches of the science of navigation
Navigation
Navigation is the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another. It is also the term of art used for the specialized knowledge used by navigators to perform navigation tasks...
. Davies now gave instruction to several gentlemen connected with insurance associations, and was employed to do work for some of the offices. William Morgan, the actuary of the Equitable, furnished him with a certificate of actuarial competency. In 1820 he received the large silver medal of the Society of Arts for a most ingenious sundial constructed by him. The Directors of the Guardian Assurance Company
Guardian Assurance Company
The Guardian Assurance Company was a very large British insurance company.-History:The Company was originally established in 1821 as Guardian Fire & Life. In 1902 it was renamed the Guardian Assurance Company....
applied to him for advice and assistance when drawing up their constitution, and he was engaged to construct the necessary tables. About the close of 1823 he was appointed the regular and permanent actuary of that company, an appointment which he held for nearly a third of a century. In the same year (1823) the Reversionary Interest Society was established, and for this company he constructed many elaborate and useful tables. In the first of his reports to the founders of that institution he announced that he had ‘ascertained upon indubitable evidence that a diminution had taken place in the mortality of Great Britain during the last hundred years.’ In 1825 he published ‘Tables of Life Contingencies, containing the rates of mortality among the members of the Equitable Society, and the value of life annuities, reversions, &c. computed therefrom; together with a more extensive scale of premiums for life assurance, deduced from the Northampton rate of mortality
Mortality rate
Mortality rate is a measure of the number of deaths in a population, scaled to the size of that population, per unit time...
, than any hitherto published, and the progressive values of life policies.’ Davies was the remodeller of George Barrett's columnar plan of constructing mortality tables, and so arranged his tables that they may almost be said to be a new discovery (WALFORD, Cyclopædia, i. 618–23). Davies's fame as an actuary became widely known.
In 1829 the directors of the East India Company
East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
submitted the documents concerning the Bombay military fund for his investigation and report, and from this period up to 1851 he was constantly consulted regarding the various Indian funds. He wrote no less than twenty reports on these Indian funds, each containing extensive insurance tables. He was also engaged from time to time for the Bank of England. On 16 June 1831, on the recommendation of Mr.Benjamin Gompertz
Benjamin Gompertz
Benjamin Gompertz was a British self educated mathematician and actuary, who became a Fellow of the Royal Society...
, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. From about 1847 he suffered from a series of attacks of bronchitis
Bronchitis
Acute bronchitis is an inflammation of the large bronchi in the lungs that is usually caused by viruses or bacteria and may last several days or weeks. Characteristic symptoms include cough, sputum production, and shortness of breath and wheezing related to the obstruction of the inflamed airways...
. On 5 Dec. 1854 he was seized with a paralytic stroke, and died at 25 Duncan Terrace, Islington, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, 21 March 1855. He was married twice, and left a son and a daughter. Besides the works already mentioned he was also author of: 1. ‘Report and Valuation for the Madras Medical Fund, with numerous tables for its future guidance.’ 2. ‘Tables for the Use of Friendly Societies, by J. Finlaison. The tables compiled by G. Davies,’ 1847.