1796-1874

Belgian Statistician, Astronomer and Meteorologist

Adolphe Quetelet envisioned a new scientific discipline that he called "social physics." It is one of the precursors of sociology. Social physics combines statistical enumeration with the analytical tools of probability theory. He coined the term "average man," a fictitious person with average build and average mental characteristics. To coordinate the collection of statistical data Quetelet organized international statistical congresses.

Lambert-Adolphe-Jacques Quetelet was born in 1796 in Ghent, in the French speaking part of Belgium. Just before his birth Belgium had been annexed by France, and when French leader Napoleon Bonaparte was defeated in 1816 the Allies joined Belgium with the Netherlands to form a stronger buffer against future French ambitions. All during his early life Quetelet would strive for Belgium to become an autonomous nation.

Quetelet's dissertation was in geometry. In 1823 he traveled to Paris to seek advice for his plan...