Quetelet Adolphe

Quetelet Adolphe

(1796-1874) Belgian scientist and pioneering social statistician and social reformer. Quetelet's approach was distinguished by the collection and analysis of large quantities of data, first to establish statistical regularities, and then to seek the underlying causes of social phenomena. His discovery of persistent regularities (e.g. associated with births and deaths, or crime) led him to expect that a social science could be established which would be on a par with the physical sciences. Thus he coined the term 'social physics’ to describe his work. His major influence was on the development of social statistics.

Collins Dictionary of Sociology, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2000