Harald Ludvig Westergaard

Who was Harald Ludvig Westergaard?

Harald Ludvig Westergaard was a Danish statistician and economist known for his work in demography and the history of statistics.

Harald Westergaard was born in Copenhagen and apart from a period studying in England and Germany in 1877-78 he lived there all his life. His subject at the University of Copenhagen was mathematics but he became interested in economics and, while he was in England, he seems to have met William Stanley Jevons. In the preface to the second edition of the Theory of Political Economy Jevons refers to Westergaard's mathematical suggestions. However, after this spectacular debut Westergaard seems not to have contributed further to mathematical economics.

In 1880-2, Westergaard worked for the Danish Insurance Office and he developed an interest in demography. His international reputation was made by the publication of Die Lehre von der Mortalität und Morbilität. This work won him a gold medal from the University and led to his appointment as a Lecturer in 1883. In 1886, he became a Professor at the early age of 33. He retired in 1924.