| RefNo | MS/603/9/13 |
| Previous numbers | 1565 |
| Level | Item |
| Title | Letter from Karl Pearson, 7 Well Road, Hampstead, to [Joseph] Larmor |
| Creator | Pearson; Karl [formerly Carl] (1857-1936); British statistician and eugenicist |
| Recipient | Larmor; Sir Joseph (1857-1942); Irish theoretical physicist |
| Date | 26 October 1903 |
| Description | He had told [Walter Frank Raphael] Weldon that he had sent a paper to the Royal Society on [Gregor] Mendel's theory, subject to whether or not it fell under the resolution of the Committee of Papers. He had not intended that Weldon should protest against the resolution or to press for any action. Biometry has a future before it, he writes, and 'the historian of science in the future will be inclined to smile at the wiseacres of the Council of the R.S. in 1903'. All Pearson would like is an interpretation of the resolution, not being concerned with the committee the paper may be sent to. He does not wish to waste his, or anyone's time, by sending in memoirs which fall under the resolution. Mendel's principles can only be treated by a mathematician, as it is a problem of permutations and combinations, necessitating the development of a pure mathematical theory of statistics, applied to a special science. He wishes to be able to withdraw the paper if it falls under Council as a Committee of Papers, and does not want the trouble of having to copy the paper if it is refused. |
| Extent | 3p. |
| Format | Manuscript |
| PhysicalDescription | Ink on paper |
| AccessStatus | Open |
Fellows associated with this archive
| Code | PersonName | Dates |
| NA8002 | Pearson; Karl (1857 - 1936); statistician and eugenicist | 1857 - 1936 |