Description: The author discusses the first life table, or life table model, which was produced in 1662 by John Graunt in his Natural and Political Observations. He notes that the brief, crude table was both inaccurate and unrealistic, but nonetheless, proved to be the source of one of the most powerful concepts and valuable tools in demography and actuarial science.

Description: This article discusses female and male mortality rates, the lower mortality rate of females and the ramifications of the increasing female population in terms of equitable treatment and their roles in the workforce.

Description: This article discusses to what extent mortality tables obey Benford’s Law.

Description: Review of a new text on mortality measurement, 'Mortality Table Construction' by Robert W. Batten.

Description: This article briefly summarizes the exposure draft recently issued by the Society of Actuaries' Task Force on Smoker/Non-Smoker Mortality.

Description: Provides a brief review of World Population: An Analysis of Vital Data by N. Keyfitz and W. Flieger. It presented a collection of life tables and related data covering more than 60 populations over 180 years. This book presents data on mortality from recorded causes of death in 180 populations, with detail provided on age and sex .... This volume should reduce substantially problems of data availability by providing information on mortality experience spanning a period of 103 years, for 48 nations, and encompassing a range of life expectancies from 27 to 77. The data will assist the social scientist in documenting such matters as the sources of the vital revolution, causes of increasing sex mortality differentials, components of age curves of mortality, geographic and temporal variations in mortality structure, and economic and social costs of a disease.

Description: The article highlights the Northampton Table which is the earliest mortality table to be constructed especially for life insurance premiums. It contrasts the life expectancies of the Northampton Table with those of population tables one and two centuries later.

Description: Recently completed experience and research studies from the SOA.

Description: Article from The Actuary, December 1971 – volume 5 - Issue 10 is a recap of the mortality experience of Servicemen’s Group Life Insurance.