[History by Numbers] Stand up for stats

This series closes with a celebration of the UK Office for National Statistics

This is the last article in the History by Numbers series. In two weeks’ time, I’m delighted to announce that my excellent friend and collaborator Paul Lenz will be starting a new series of fortnightly articles on the interesting histories of everyday objects. Watch this space!

Whatever your views of maths, and statistics in particular, we are blessed in the UK by the existence of the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The organisation we know today has only existed since 1996, but it began life as the Central Statistical Office, thanks to none other than Winston Churchill. As prime minister in World War Two, he wanted easier access to data in order to help the war effort; as a result, the creation of the CSO was announced on 27 January 1941. The UK Statistics Authority compiled its own timeline of British data-gathering – it’s no longer at their website but here are some historical highlights: