Statistical Society of London Statistical Society Royal Statistical Society

The Society was founded in London in 1834 and incorporated by royal charter in 1887. The founding aims were " the collection and classification of all facts illustrative of the present condition and prospects of Society, especially as it exists in the British Dominions". The founders included Charles Babbage and T.R. Malthus and members of the Society were, and are, known as Fellows. From the beginning there has been no bar on women as either Fellows or guests at meetings. Through its Fellows, the Society has always had close connections with Government as well as with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the London School of Economics. The new Society organised itself into a number of Committees to investigate the several branches of statistics and compile new and reliable data. Very soon it became clear that this broad approach and imposed structure could not be maintained and in 1837 the Committee on the practical working of the Society reported almost total failure of the Committee structure as established with only the Medical Committee still in existence. In future Committees would be established on an ad hoc basis as required by Fellows or following requests to the Society. An initial aim of the Society had been to establish and develop a Library of statistical works and the demise of the committee structure led to the decision to concentrate on building up the Library. The other principle activities of the Society were the publication of a Journal and the holding of monthly meetings at which papers were delivered and discussed by Fellows and their guests. A continuing concern of the Society has been the development of an efficient census system. The Society's activities began to expand in the 20th century with the establishment of the Industrial and Agricultural Research Section. In 1993 the Institute of Statisticians, founded in 1948 as a professional and examining body for statisticians, was merged with the Society. Today the Society is the main professional and learned society for statisticians which awards professional status, validates university courses and runs examinations world-wide. The Society has had a variety of London addresses. It was originally based in offices at Royal Society of Literature, moved to 11 Regent Street in 1843 and within 2 years to offices on the ground floor of the London Library. The next move, in 1874, was to share offices with the Institute of Actuaries in the Principal's House at King's College. Ten years later the Society moved to a more permanent home at 9 Adelphi Terrace where it remained until moving to 4 Portugal Street in 1936, then in 1954 to 21 Bentinck Street, to 25 Enford Street in 1975, and finally to its present premises in Errol Street in 1995.