David Carnegie Andrew Agnew

“ De Moivre is regarded as the father of tables of rates according to which a life is assured, or annuities for the remainder of life are negotiated. His calculations at first seemed trifling, even to himself, as they appeared in a quarto volume which he published in 1718, and dedicated to Newton, entitled “The Doctrine of Chances, or the method of calculating the probability of events at play.” ”

“ The article in the “English Cyclopaedia of Biography” states that although De Moivre could appreciate such writings as Isaac Newton’s, there is scarcely a trace either of physical or geometrical investigations in his own writings, when his career of authorship began. His power lay in “pure mathematics of the kind now called analytical.” His first appearance in print was in the “Philosophical Transactions” for 1695; the subject of his paper was “The use and excellence of Newton’s Doctrine of Fluxions for the solution of geometric problems.” ”

“ It was in 1730 that he published his “Miscellanea Analytica de Seriebus et Quadraturis,” a work which, we are informed, “contains several very elegant improvements in the known methods of termination of series, as well as some new methods.” The author had not the gratification of presenting it to Newton, for the veteran philosopher had died three years before, but on a copy being sent to Berlin, Monsieur Naudé proposed the election of De Moivre as a member of the Academy of Berlin, and he was elected by acclamation. ”

“ De Moivre followed Halley in adopting the death-registers of Breslau as his basis, its population being more stationary than that of London. His calculations of the value of annuities extend from the age of one year up to eighty-four, while Simpson’s calculations extend from six to seventy-five, Simpson’s basis being an annuity of £10, and De Moivre’s an annuity of £100, both at 5 per cent. ”