List of actuaries
Encyclopedia
An actuary
is a business professional who deals with the financial impact of risk and uncertainty
. This is a list of notable actuaries and others who have influenced the profession.
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 ....
is a business professional who deals with the financial impact of risk and uncertainty
Actuarial science
Actuarial science is the discipline that applies mathematical and statistical methods to assess risk in the insurance and finance industries. Actuaries are professionals who are qualified in this field through education and experience...
. This is a list of notable actuaries and others who have influenced the profession.
- John GrauntJohn GrauntJohn Graunt was one of the first demographers, though by profession he was a haberdasher. Born in London, the eldest of seven or eight children of Henry and Mary Graunt. His father was a draper who had moved to London from Hampshire...
(1620–1674), EnglishEnglish peopleThe English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
, constructed one of the first life tableLife tableIn actuarial science, a life table is a table which shows, for each age, what the probability is that a person of that age will die before his or her next birthday...
s - Edmond HalleyEdmond HalleyEdmond Halley FRS was an English astronomer, geophysicist, mathematician, meteorologist, and physicist who is best known for computing the orbit of the eponymous Halley's Comet. He was the second Astronomer Royal in Britain, following in the footsteps of John Flamsteed.-Biography and career:Halley...
(1656–1742), English, constructed one of the first life tableLife tableIn actuarial science, a life table is a table which shows, for each age, what the probability is that a person of that age will die before his or her next birthday...
s - James DodsonJames DodsonJames Dodson FRS was a British mathematician, actuary and innovator in the insurance industry.-Life:Matthew Maty, in his Mémoire sur la vie et sur les écrits de M. A. de Moivre, wrote that Dodson was a pupil of Abraham de Moivre. He worked as an accountant and teacher...
(1705–1751), English, developed statistical mortality tables - Richard PriceRichard PriceRichard Price was a British moral philosopher and preacher in the tradition of English Dissenters, and a political pamphleteer, active in radical, republican, and liberal causes such as the American Revolution. He fostered connections between a large number of people, including writers of the...
(1723–1791), WelshWelsh peopleThe Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have... - Edward Rowe MoresEdward Rowe MoresEdward Rowe Mores, FSA was an English antiquarian and scholar, with works on history and typography...
(1731–1778), English, founder of The Society for Equitable Assurances on Lives and Survivorships and the first person to use the professional title "actuary" - William Morgan (1750–1833), Welsh
- Nathaniel BowditchNathaniel BowditchNathaniel Bowditch was an early American mathematician remembered for his work on ocean navigation. He is often credited as the founder of modern maritime navigation; his book The New American Practical Navigator, first published in 1802, is still carried on board every commissioned U.S...
(1773-1838), The first American Insurance actuary; Essex Fire and Marine.. - Joshua MilneJoshua Milne-Carlisle table:In 1815 he compiled the Carlisle table based on figures from the 1780 census and deaths in two parishes of Carlisle, England. It proved remarkably accurate and was still in use in parts of the 20th century.-References:...
(1776–1851), English - Benjamin GompertzBenjamin GompertzBenjamin Gompertz was a British self educated mathematician and actuary, who became a Fellow of the Royal Society...
(1779–1865), English, developed the Gompertz-Makeham law of mortalityGompertz-Makeham law of mortalityThe Gompertz–Makeham lawstates that the death rate is the sum of an age-independent component and an age-dependent component , which increases exponentially with age...
and the Gompertz function - John Finlaison (1783–1860), ScottishScottish peopleThe Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
, first president of the Institute of ActuariesInstitute of ActuariesThe Institute of Actuaries was one of the two professional which represented actuaries in the United Kingdom . The Institute was based in England, while the other body, the Faculty of Actuaries, was based in Scotland... - Griffith DaviesGriffith DaviesGriffith Davies was a noted actuary.Davies, son of Owen Davies, farmer and quarryman , 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...
(1788–1855), Welsh - Elizur WrightElizur WrightElizur Wright was an American mathematician and abolitionist. He is sometimes described as the "father of life insurance" for his pioneering work on actuarial tables...
(1804–1885), AmericanUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, campaigned for valuation laws requiring life insurance companies to hold reserves to guarantee payment of benefits - Wesley S. B. WoolhouseWesley S. B. WoolhouseWesley Stoker Barker Woolhouse was an actuary with diverse interests in music theory, the design of steam locomotives, measurements, and many other fields, publishing books in all these fields....
(1809–1893), English, co-founder of Institute of ActuariesInstitute of ActuariesThe Institute of Actuaries was one of the two professional which represented actuaries in the United Kingdom . The Institute was based in England, while the other body, the Faculty of Actuaries, was based in Scotland... - James Joseph SylvesterJames Joseph SylvesterJames Joseph Sylvester was an English mathematician. He made fundamental contributions to matrix theory, invariant theory, number theory, partition theory and combinatorics...
(1814–1897), English - Ole Jacob BrochOle Jacob BrochOle Jacob Broch was a Norwegian mathematician, physicist, economist and politician. Broch was born in Fredrikstad, the son of war commissary Johan Jørgen Broch and Jensine Laurentze Bentzen . He showed a talent for mathematics at an early age, and after studies in Christiania , he travelled abroad...
(1818-1889), founded GjensidigeGjensidigeGjensidige Forsikring ASA is a Norwegian insurance company. Though the company has roots back to 1689 when the fire treasury at Nes was founded, Gjensidige in its present form was founded in 2003 when the insurance division of Gjensidige NOR was not made part of its merger with Den norske Bank...
ScandinaviaScandinaviaScandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
s first life insurance company - Ernst EngelErnst EngelErnst Engel was a German statistician and economist, famous for the Engel curve and the Engel's law.Ernst was born in Dresden in 1821...
(1821-1896), founded the first Mortgage Insurance company at Dresden, Germany - Esprit JouffretEsprit JouffretEsprit Jouffret was a French artillery officer, insurance actuary and mathematician, author of Traité élémentaire de géométrie à quatre dimensions , a popularization of Henri Poincaré's Science and Hypothesis in which Jouffret described hypercubes and other complex polyhedra in four dimensions and...
(1837- ) French - Thorvald N. ThieleThorvald N. ThieleThorvald Nicolai Thiele was a Danish astronomer, actuary and mathematician, most notable for his work in statistics, interpolation and the three-body problem. He was the first to propose a mathematical theory of Brownian motion...
(1838–1910), Danish - Emory McClintockEmory McClintockEmory McClintock was an American actuary, born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Columbia University, where he was tutor in mathematics in 1859-1860. From 1863 to 1866 he served as United States consular agent at Bradford, England...
(1840–1916), American - Anders LindstedtAnders LindstedtAnders Lindstedt was a Swedish mathematician, astronomer, and actuarial scientist, known for the Lindstedt-Poincaré method.- Life and work :...
(1854–1939), SwedishSwedesSwedes are a Scandinavian nation and ethnic group native to Sweden, mostly inhabiting Sweden and the other Nordic countries, with descendants living in a number of countries.-Etymology:... - Thomas Bassett MacaulayThomas Bassett MacaulayThomas Bassett Macaulay, also known as T. B. Macaulay, was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. He was a noted actuary of his era; a philanthropist; and was the founder of the Macaulay Institute, in 1930...
(1860–1942), Canadian - Thomas JaffreyThomas JaffreySir Thomas Jaffrey, 1st Baronet was a Scottish actuary and a prominent citizen of Aberdeen.Jaffrey joined the North of Scotland Bank in 1877 and in 1892 was appointed actuary of the Aberdeen Savings Bank, a post he held for 37 years...
(1861–1953), Scottish - Miles Menander DawsonMiles Menander DawsonMiles Menander Dawson was an American author of poetry and philosophy, and ethics. He wrote books about the teachings of Zoroaster, Socrates, and Confucius. He was a member of the Confucian Society of China.-Biography:...
(1863-1942), American - Gabriel Gabrielsen HoltsmarkGabriel Gabrielsen HoltsmarkGabriel Gabrielsen Holtsmark was a Norwegian educator, physicist and actuary.-Personal life:He was born in Asker as a son of farmer and mayor Bent Holtsmark and his wife Anne Elisabeth Gabrielsen. He was a brother of Bernt, Torger and Wilhelm Holtsmark...
(1867–1954), NorwegianNorwegiansNorwegians constitute both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway. They share a common culture and speak the Norwegian language. Norwegian people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in United States, Canada and Brazil.-History:Towards the end of the 3rd... - George James LidstoneGeorge James LidstoneGeorge James Lidstone was a British actuary who made several contributions to the field of statistics. He is known for Lidstone smoothing and Lidstone series.- References :...
(1870-1952), British - Johan Frederik SteffensenJohan Frederik SteffensenJohan Frederik Steffensen was a Danish mathematician, statistician, and actuary who did research in the fields of calculus of finite differences and interpolation. He was professor of actuarial science at the University of Copenhagen from 1923 to 1943. Steffensen's inequality and Steffensen's...
(1873-1961), Danish - Alexander JobsonAlexander JobsonBrigadier General Alexander Jobson DSO was an Australian Army Brigadier General in World War I.-Early life and career:...
(1875–1933), Australian - I. M. RubinowI. M. RubinowIsaac Max Rubinow was a leading theorist on social insurance and one of the most influential writers on the subject. Rubinow was an MD, and held a Ph.D. in economics from Columbia University. His 1913 book, Social Insurance, was the most influential early work on social security...
(1875–1936), RussianRussiansThe Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries.... - Alfred M. BestAlfred M. BestAlfred M. Best was an American actuary, born in Caldwell, New Jersey, US.At the age of 15, Best began his career in the insurance industry as a junior clerk with the Queen Insurance Company of America in New York. He continued to work in the insurance field for various companies over the next six...
(1876–1958), American, founder of the A. M. Best company - Maurice PrincetMaurice PrincetMaurice Princet was a French mathematician and actuary who played a role in the birth of cubism. He was an associate of Pablo Picasso, Guillaume Apollinaire, Max Jacob, Jean Metzinger, and Marcel Duchamp...
(1875–1973), FrenchFrench peopleThe French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups... - Filip LundbergFilip LundbergErnst Filip Oskar Lundberg Swedish actuary, founder of mathematical risk theory and managing director of several insurance companies....
(1876–1965), Swedish, founder of mathematical risk theory and managing director of several insurance companies - William Palin EldertonWilliam Palin EldertonSir William Palin Elderton KBE PhD was a British actuary who served as president of the Institute of Actuaries . Elderton also had a very long association with the statistical journal Biometrika...
(1877–1962), English - Alfred J. LotkaAlfred J. LotkaAlfred James Lotka was a US mathematician, physical chemist, and statistician, famous for his work in population dynamics and energetics. An American biophysicist best known for his proposal of the predator-prey model, developed simultaneously but independently of Vito Volterra...
(1880–1949), American - Sverre Krogh (1883-1957), Norwegian
- Harald CramérHarald CramérHarald Cramér was a Swedish mathematician, actuary, and statistician, specializing in mathematical statistics and probabilistic number theory. He was once described by John Kingman as "one of the giants of statistical theory".-Early life:Harald Cramér was born in Stockholm, Sweden on September...
(1893–1985), Swedish, developed numerous statistical theories and methods - Ivo LahIvo LahIvo Lah was a Slovenian mathematician and actuary, best known for his discovery of the Lah numbers in 1955.Lah attended elementary school in St. Vid nad Cerknico and in Ljubljana...
(1896–1979), Austrian-Hungarian - Henrik PalmstrømHenrik PalmstrømHenrik Palmstrøm was a Norwegian actuary and statistician.He was born in Ås as a son of professor Arnfinn Palmstrøm and Henrikke Qvigstad , and older brother of judge Finn Palmstrøm...
(1900-1998), Norwegian - Oswald JacobyOswald JacobyOswald Jacoby was an American contract bridge player and author, considered one of the greatest bridge players of all time. He also excelled at, and wrote about, other games including backgammon, gin rummy, and poker.Born in Brooklyn, he was taught to play whist at the age of six and played his...
(1902–1984), American, the youngest person ever to pass the examination of the Society of ActuariesSociety of ActuariesThe Society of Actuaries is a professional organization for actuaries based in North America. It was founded in 1949 as the merger of two major actuarial organizations in the United States: the Actuarial Society of America and the American Institute of Actuaries... - Wendell MillimanWendell MillimanWendell Milliman was a founder of Milliman, Inc., formerly Milliman & Robertson, one of the largest actuarial and business consulting firms in the world...
(1905–1976), American, co-founder of Milliman & RoebertsonMilliman-Corporate Overview:Milliman is a large international, independent actuarial and consulting firm, with revenues of $676 million in 2010. Founded in Seattle in 1947, by Wendell Milliman and Stuart A. Robertson, the firm operates 54 offices worldwide with 2,500 employees, including more than 1,300... - Andreas TømmerbakkeAndreas TømmerbakkeAndreas Tømmerbakke was a Norwegian actuary and resistance member.He was born in Bergen, and finished his secondary education at Bergen Cathedral School in 1929. He studied at the Royal Frederick University and graduated with the cand.oecon. degree in 1934. In 1935 he took the actuary examination...
(1905-1994), Norwegian - Frank RedingtonFrank RedingtonFrank Mitchell Redington was a noted British actuary. Frank Redington was best known for his development of Immunisation Theory which specifies how a fixed income portfolio can be "immunised" against changing interest rates....
(1906–1984), English, developed an immunisation theory which specifies how a fixed income portfolio can be "immunised" against changing interest rates - Bruno de FinettiBruno de FinettiBruno de Finetti was an Italian probabilist, statistician and actuary, noted for the "operational subjective" conception of probability...
(1906-1985), Italian - Bernard BenjaminBernard Benjamin-External links:* :...
(1910–2002), English - Cecil J. NesbittCecil J. NesbittCecil James Nesbitt, Ph.D., F.S.A., M.A.A.A. was a mathematician who was a Ph.D. student of Richard Brauer and wrote many influential papers in the early history of modular representation theory. He taught actuarial mathematics at the University of Michigan from 1938 to 1980. Nesbitt was born in...
(1912–2001), Canadian - Stuart A. RobertsonStuart A. RobertsonStuart A. Robertson was co-founder, with Wendell Milliman, of Milliman, Inc., formerly Milliman & Robertson, which would grow to become one of the largest actuarial and business consulting firms in the world, encompassing more than 30 locations throughout the United States with offices in 16 other...
(1918–2005), American, co-founder of Milliman & RoebertsonMilliman-Corporate Overview:Milliman is a large international, independent actuarial and consulting firm, with revenues of $676 million in 2010. Founded in Seattle in 1947, by Wendell Milliman and Stuart A. Robertson, the firm operates 54 offices worldwide with 2,500 employees, including more than 1,300... - James C. HickmanJames C. HickmanJames C. Hickman was an American actuary. He was internationally publicized for his work in actuarial education as well as being a major contribution in the development of the actuarial profession...
(1927–2006), American, Dean of School of Business, University of Wisconsin–MadisonUniversity of Wisconsin–MadisonThe University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866... - Hugh Hedley ScurfieldHugh Hedley ScurfieldHugh Scurfield is an English actuary of considerable note. He was born December 9, 1935 in the County of Durham, England; the third of four children to William Russell Scurfield and Elizabeth Morton Scurfield . He graduated from Hertford College, Oxford with an M.A...
(1935–), English - Phelim BoylePhelim BoylePhelim Boyle , a distinguished professor and actuary, is a professor of finance in the Laurier School of Business & Economics at Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada and is a pioneer of quantitative finance. He is best known for initiating the use of Monte Carlo methods in option pricing...
(1941–), Northern Irish - Paul McCrossanPaul McCrossanWilliam Paul Joseph McCrossan is an actuary and former Canadian Member of Parliament.-Background:McCrossan was born in Toronto. An actuary by profession, McCrossan has served as president of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries...
(1942–), Canadian - Ward WhittWard WhittWard Whitt is an internationally renowned expert in operations research and management sciences. He is currently the Wai T. Chang Professor of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research at Columbia University. His research focuses on queueing theory, performance analysis, stochastic models of...
(1942-), American - Bryn DaviesBryn DaviesBrinley Howard Davies, usually known as Bryn Davies is a British trade unionist, actuary and politician who was Leader of the Inner London Education Authority in the early 1980s....
(1944-), British - Christopher DaykinChristopher DaykinChristopher Daykin CB is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries and was the Government Actuary for the United Kingdom from 1989 to 2007....
,(1948-), English - Steven HabermanSteven HabermanSteven Haberman is the professor of actuarial science and a senior administrator at City University, London.He was educated at Ilford County High School, Trinity College, Cambridge and City University .- Career :...
(1951–), English - Sir James Robert Crosby (1956–), English
- Tan Suee ChiehTan Suee ChiehTan Suee Chieh , was appointed Chief Executive of NTUC Income Insurance Co-operative Limited in February 2007. He has served as a member of the organisation’s Board of Directors since 2003.He also sits on several other boards including , and...
(1959-), SingaporeanDemographics of SingaporeThis article is about the demographic features of the population of Singapore, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.... - David X. LiDavid X. LiDavid X. Li is a quantitative analyst and a qualified actuary who in the early 2000s pioneered the use of Gaussian copula models for the pricing of collateralized debt obligations...
(~1960s), ChineseChinese peopleThe term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
, pioneered the use of Gaussian copula models for the pricing of collateralized debt obligationCollateralized debt obligationCollateralized debt obligations are a type of structured asset-backed security with multiple "tranches" that are issued by special purpose entities and collateralized by debt obligations including bonds and loans. Each tranche offers a varying degree of risk and return so as to meet investor demand...
s (CDOs) - Michael ShacklefordMichael ShacklefordMichael "The Wizard of Odds" Shackleford a trained actuary , now makes his living analyzing casino games...
(1965–), English - Roelof BothaRoelof BothaRoelof F. Botha is a venture capitalist and company director. By training, he is a qualified actuary.Botha is a partner at Sequoia Capital and sits on the board of Eventbrite, Jawbone, Mahalo, Meebo, Nimbula, Square, Tokbox, Tumblr, Unity and Xoom...
(1973–), South African - Dale L. GiffordDale L. GiffordDale L. Gifford was Hewitt Associates Chief Executive Officer from 1992 and Chairman of the Board of Directors between March 2002 and his retirement in October 2006. Prior to those roles, Gifford managed Hewitt's Southwest and Midwest U.S. Market Groups, international operations, and their...
, American - Howard WinklevossHoward WinklevossHoward E. Winklevoss is an actuary. He is an academician and entrepreneur who has a practice in benefits management.Winklevoss is a former professor of actuarial science at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a graduate of Grove City College. He has written more than 20 books,...
, American