Farr

Farr William (William Farr; 1807-83), known sanitary statistician, was born into a poor family of a small farmer in England. At 19 years old, fascinated by medicine, he became an apprentice to a local physician and completed his practical training as a paramedic in a hospital. In 1829-1830 he studied medicine at the University of Paris, completed his education in London, where he received his medical degree in 1832. Even as a student, he was interested in social hygiene and sanitary statistics. He published various articles on demography and sanitary statistics in medical journals. In 1837, together with Dr. Thompson, Farr published the "British Medical Chronicle" and his work "Demography," which immediately earned him an honorable place among the authorities of that time. In the same year, civil registration was introduced, and Farr was invited to the position of compiler of statistical collections in the newly created Office of the Registrar General. Here Farr took up the organization of the national English system of sanitary statistics. One of Farr's first tasks was to develop a nomenclature and classification of diseases and to develop a methodology for registering causes of mortality. He also took, first indirect and then direct, part in the censuses of the English population of 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871. Based on the materials of the 1841 and 1851 censuses, he compiled "Mortality Tables". At his initiative, the postal insurance system was established in 1864. Farr was a permanent consultant to the government on all issues related to statistics. Farr was an honorary member of many scientific societies, was the initiator of the creation of the English Statistical Society, and was a permanent representative of England at international statistical congresses. The British Medical Association recognized his exceptional merits by presenting him with a gold medal and an address in 1880. Selected works of Farr were published in 1885 in a separate collection by the Committee for the Perpetuation of His Memory.