Professional Development

The earliest statistical diagrams were drawn towards the end of the eighteenth century by William Playfair and they feature in our everyday life and in our curricula to this day. Which diagrams did he invent and why? Where did his ideas come from and how successfully did he execute them? How were they received both home and abroad, and how were they further developed in the nineteenth century. Finally, what has Florence Nightingale got to do with all this and how did British soldiers in the Crimean War benefit?

Dr Chris Pritchard, the 2021-22 President of the Mathematical Association and a former Chair of the Scottish Mathematical Council, taught for 39 years in schools in London and Scotland, much of the time as Head of Department. He has been one of the editors of Mathematics in School since 2005 and has authored/edited seven books on mathematics and its teaching. Chris also has a longstanding interest in the history of mathematics and particularly the history of statistics, and his doctorate was awarded for research on Francis Galton and the birth of regression.

Age: Secondary, Higher Education