On the duration of life of sovereigns / [William A. Guy].

  • William Augustus Guy
Date:
[1847]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the duration of life of sovereigns / [William A. Guy]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    sive and steady improvement in the value of life among those whose longevity is so bound up with the welfare of nations and communities. But though the duration of life among the modern race of Sove- reigns is so much more favourable than it was in more remote periods, it is still very low as compared with other classes of the community, a result already established on the narrow basis of the average age of the Kings of England, but which I now proceed to deduce from more ample and sufficient data. As a preliminary to a comparison of the several classes it will be necessary to determine the average duration of life of Sovereigns wffio have attained or passed the ages of 21, 31, 41, and 51 respectively, The exact numbers will be seen in the following table :— Table VI. Age. Average Age at Death. Ducal and princely families.—(Casper.) 21 and upwards 54*22 56 26 55*56 57 31 57*16 59 41 60*90 63 51 64*89 67 It must be obvious at a glance that this is by no means a favourable result. The average age in every case is unusually low ; which will appear more distinctly from the subjoined comparison. Table VII. Ages. Sovereigns, Kings of England. Aristocracy. Gentry. 21 and upwards 54*22 65*31 67*59 26 55*56 66*19 68*97 31 57*16 59*19 67*31 70*22 41 60*90 60*45 69*13 72*03 51 64*89 64*12 71*69 74*00 On comparing the average age attained by the larger class of Sovereigns with that of the Kings of England, the slight difference existing between them, especially at the more advanced ages, arrests our attention, and would seem to justify the use of comparatively small numbers of facts for the purpose of establishing statistical proba¬ bilities. It was on the strength of the averages obtained from that small number of facts, that I ventured, in a former Essay to place Kings at the bottom of the sanatory scale, and the figures in the above table have fully warranted that somewhat rash proceeding. It may, perhaps, be objected that the several columns of the above table do not admit of exact comparison, inasmuch as neither the periods embraced nor the countries inhabited by the several classes are the same. The last three columns refer exclusively to England, and to the interval between the 12th and first half of the 18th centuries, whereas the first column comprises men who have borne rule in every quarter of the world, and at every period of the Christian era. The first objection is easily disposed of, by instituting a strict comparison, both as to time and number of facts, between the class of Sovereigns and that of the
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