1702?-1761

English Mathematician

Thomas Bayes spent most of his career as a Presbyterian minister overseeing his flock at Tunbridge Wells, Kent, yet in his spare time, he produced a number of intriguing and influential mathematical papers. Of particular interest were two published posthumously by the Royal Society of London. In one of these, Bayes offered the first discussion of asymptotic behavior by series expansions; and in the other—a treatise that continues to exert an influence in a variety of statistical applications—he laid the groundwork for what became known as Bayesian statistical estimation.

The circumstances of Bayes's life, including the exact year of his birth, are a mystery. He was born in 1701 or 1702, either in London or in Hertfordshire. At least the identity of his parents, Joshua and Ann Carpenter Bayes, is known, as is the fact that Thomas was the first of six children...