Statistical Society of London
 |
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| Abbreviation | RSS |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1834 |
| Type | Professional body, learned society, charity |
| Legal status | Non-profit company |
| Purpose | A world where data are at the heart of understanding and decision making |
| Headquarters | 12 Errol Street, St Luke's, EC1Y 8LX |
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Region served
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UK and worldwide |
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Membership
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British and worldwide statisticians and data professionals |
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Executive Director
|
Hetan Shah |
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Main organ
|
RSS Council (President: David Spiegelhalter) |
| Affiliations | American Statistical Association |
| Website | rss |
The Royal Statistical Society (RSS) is one of the world's most distinguished and renowned statistical societies. It has three main goals. The RSS is a British learned society for statistics, a professional body for statisticians, and a charity which promotes statistics for the public good.
The society was founded in 1834 as the Statistical Society of London, though a perhaps unrelated London Statistical Society was in existence at least as early as 1824. At that time there were many provincial statistics societies throughout Britain, but most have not survived. The Manchester Statistical Society (which is older than the LSS) is a notable exception. The associations were formed with the object of gathering information about society. The idea of statistics referred more to political knowledge rather than a series of methods. The members called themselves "statists" and the original aim was "...procuring, arranging and publishing facts to illustrate the condition and prospects of society" and the idea of interpreting data, or having opinions, was explicitly excluded. The original logo had the motto Aliis Exterendum (for others to thresh out, i.e. interpreted) but this separation was found to be a hindrance and the motto was dropped in later logos. It was many decades before mathematics was regarded as part of the statistical project.
Instrumental in founding the LSS were Richard Jones, Charles Babbage, Adolphe Quetelet, William Whewell, and Thomas Malthus. Among its famous members was Florence Nightingale, who was the society's first female member in 1858. Stella Cunliffe was the first female president. Other notable RSS presidents have included William Beveridge, Ronald Fisher, Harold Wilson, and David Cox.
Honorary Secretaries include Gerald Goodhardt (1982–88).
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Wikipedia