Karl Pearson is considered the founder of the science of statistics. In developing ways to analyze and represent scientific observations, he laid the groundwork for the development of the field of statistics in the twentieth century.

Pearson was born in London, England, on March 27, 1857, to William Pearson, a lawyer, and Fanny Smith. At the age of nine, Karl attended the University College School but was forced to withdraw at sixteen because of poor health. After a year of private tutoring, he went to Cambridge, where the distinguished King's College mathematician E. J. Routh met with him each day at 7 a.m. to study papers on advanced topics in applied mathematics. In 1875, he was awarded a scholarship to King's College, where he studied mathematics, philosophy, religion, and literature. At that time, students at King's College were required to attend divinity lectures. Pearson announced that he would not attend the...