Frederick Ludwig Hoffman
Born(1865-05-02)May 2, 1865
Varel, Grand Duchy of Oldenburg
DiedFebruary 23, 1946(1946-02-23) (aged 80)
San Diego, California, United States
Burial placeGreenwood Memorial Park
OccupationStatistician
Spouse
Ella G. Hay
​
(m. 1891)​
Children7
Signature

Frederick Ludwig Hoffman (May 2, 1865 – February 23, 1946) was an American statistician who showed great foresight on some public health issues, but his work in some areas was biased by his scientific racist views.[1]

Biography

Hoffman was born Friedrich Ludwig Hoffmann in Varel in the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg on May 2, 1865 the son of the merchant Augustus Franziskus Hoffmann and his wife Antonette.[2][3] His father died when Frederick was 11 years old. He was educated in the common and private schools in Germany. His school days, marked by failures, ended in 1880 without a degree. At the request of his single mother, who was now living in difficult financial circumstances, Frederick began a four-year commercial apprenticeship with various merchants in north-west Germany. The apprenticeship ended in 1884 also without a degree. Since Frederick saw no further professional and personal future for himself in Germany, he emigrated to the United States at the end of 1884.[4] He became statistician for the Prudential Insurance Company of America in 1891. Hofman was a racist against African Americans in his studies of incarceration. He was employed as statistician by many organizations and did research in ethnology and kindred subjects. He also served as President of the American Statistical Association in 1911.

Hoffman's first book, The Race Traits and Tendencies of the American Negro (1896), characterized African Americans as exceptionally disease-prone. The work was motivated by a concern about issues of race, and also the need of insurance companies to justify the higher life insurance premiums charged to African Americans. An 1897 critique of this work by Kelly Miller in occasional papers of the American Negro Academy of Washington, D.C., pointed out sampling problems with the 1890 census, which was the statistical basis of the work, and that there were insufficient adjustments for environmental factors.

He married Ella G. Hay on July 15, 1891, and they had seven children.[3]

He died in San Diego, California on February 23, 1946.[2][5] He was buried at Greenwood Memorial Park.[6]

A collection of his papers are held at the National Library of Medicine.[7]

Works

  • The Race Traits and Tendencies of the American Negro (1896) This book, Hoffman's first, characterized African Americans as exceptionally disease-prone. The work was motivated by a concern about issues of race, and also the need of insurance companies to justify the higher life insurance premiums charged to African Americans. An 1897 critique of this work by Kelly Miller in occasional papers of the American Negro Academy of Washington, D.C., pointed out sampling problems with the 1890 census, which was the statistical basis of the work, and that there were insufficient adjustments for environmental factors.
  • Fatal Accidents in Coal Mining (1910)
  • Mortality from Cancer Throughout the World (1915)
  • Mortality from Respiratory Diseases in Dusty Trades (1917)

References

  1. ↑ Rigney, Francis J. Jr. (October 29, 2018). "Frederick L. Hoffman (1865–1946)". Amstat News. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
  2. 1 2 Sypher, Francis J. "The Rediscovered Prophet: Frederick L. Hoffman (1865-1946)". Cosmos 2000. Archived from the original on July 15, 2018. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
  3. 1 2 Bigelow, Samuel F.; Hagar, George J., eds. (1909). The Biographical Cyclopedia of New Jersey. New York City: National Americana Society. pp. 147–149. Retrieved July 4, 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  4. ↑ On Hoffman's childhood and youth in Varel and the surrounding area see: Hans Sauer: From school dropout to recognized publicist, Friedrich Ludwig Hoffmann - a biographical sketch, in: Dirk Oltmanns (Ed.), Emigration from the Oldenburg Land to the USA. Individual Fates with Backgrounds, Letters and Photos, Oldenburg (Germany) 2023, p. 90-105 (contact: www.hollwege.com).
  5. ↑ "Frederick L. Hoffman". The Boston Globe. San Diego, California (published February 25, 1946). AP. February 24, 1946. p. 15. Retrieved July 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Dr. Frederick Hoffman, Cancer Authority, Dies". Los Angeles Times. San Diego (published February 25, 1946). February 24, 1946. p. 12. Retrieved July 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Emile Holman Papers 1909-1976". National Library of Medicine.

Sources

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