Jervoise Athelstane Baines

Sir Jervoise Athelstane Baines CSI FRGS (17 October 1847 – 26 November 1925) was an administrator in the Indian Civil Service during the period of the British Raj.

Early life

Baines was the son of Edward Baines, the vicar of Yalding in Kent, and his wife, Catherine Eularia Baines.^[1] He was born on 17 October 1847 in the village of Bluntisham in the former English county of Huntingdonshire.^[2] He was educated at Rugby School and at Trinity College, Cambridge. In 1868, he passed the competitive examination for entry into the Indian Civil Service, spent two years in training and was then posted to the Bombay Presidency.^[2]^[3]

India

Baines arrived in India in 1870, approximately halfway through the five-year-long attempt to collect statistical population data, which was the first such exercise by the Raj administration. In 1881, he was deputy superintendent of the census in the Presidency and excelled to the degree that he was appointed Census Commissioner for the national census of 1891.^[4] He had worked as an assistant collector and magistrate at Poona from 1883^[5] and held various other posts while in India.^[3]^[6]

Baines spent much of his time organising the censuses and also analysing and producing reports based on their data, which were "widely recognised as the work of a brilliant ethnographer and statistician", according to an obituary published in Nature. For the 1891 census, Baines changed the classification from that which had been used in the exercise of 1881. His obituary in the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society describes the changes as being "first the separation of caste from religion and, secondly, the substitution of the population subsisting by an occupation for that exercising it." He wrote the resultant 300-page General Report.^[4] His work influenced that of his successors, such as H. H. Risley and Edward Gait,^[7] and his obituary in the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society noted that

he brought to the presentation and interpretation statistical of data not only all the resources of a well-stored mind but also a gift of sympathetic insight which enabled him to develop with almost dramatic vividness " the story behind the figures".^[4]

Later life and recognition

In January 1894, Baines was made a Companion of the Order of the Star of India.^[8] He had worked on the decennial Report on Moral and Material Progress for 1891 and he was appointed as Secretary to the Royal Opium Commission for the period 1894–1895. He retired near to the end of 1895.^[2]^[7] Returning to England, he initially settled in London and became involved in local politics and administration, becoming an Alderman of London County Council between 1898 and 1902. He moved to Kidlington, Oxford in 1904, was knighted in 1905.^[4]^[9] and was a member of the Oxfordshire County Council from 1917 until 1922.^[4]^[5] Much of his involvement in Oxfordshire politics concerned education.^[2]

Baines was elected a fellow of the Royal Statistical Society in 1881 and served a term as its president between 1909 and 1910, following a continuous period as a member of the Society's Council from 1895.^[4]^[10] The society awarded him its Guy Medal in Gold in 1900, making him one of the eight people to receive the honour between its inception in 1892 and 1930.^[11]^[12] Baines was also a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society from 1896,^[13] an Honorary Member of the American Statistical Association and an elected member of the International Statistical Institute from 1897.^[4]

He died at Kidlington on 26 November 1925.^[7] He had married Constance Pyne in 1874, and the couple had a son and a daughter.^[6]

Baines was well liked in the princely state of Travancore for his services to the Maharajah and his generosity to the citizens. He owned land in two locations Trivandrum and whilst leaving the State, he sold them at very affordable prices to the local citizens. These two locations (Nanthancode Bains Compound and Museum Bains Compound) are now named "Bains Compound" in his memory.^[14]^[15]

Works

Among his written works are Ethnography (castes and tribes), which was published in 1912,^[16] contributions to the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica (as J.A.B.), and numerous journal papers. The latter mostly concerned demographics,^[4] such as The Recent Trend of Population in England and Wales.^[17]

References

^ Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles. Armorial families : a directory of gentlemen of coat-armour (Fifth ed.). Edinburgh: T. C. & E. C. Jack. p. 20. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Obituary: Sir Athelstane Baines". The Times. London. 27 November 1925.
^ ^a ^b direction of the Secretary of State for India in Council (1905). The India List and India Office List for 1905. London: Harrison and Sons. p. 431. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h R.H.R.; S. de J. (January 1926). "Obituary: Sir Athelstane Baines, C.S.I.". Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. 89 (1). London: Royal Statistical Society: 182–184. JSTOR 2341501.(subscription required)
^ ^a ^b Venn, John Archibald, ed. (1940). Alumni Cantabrigienses; a Biographical List of All Known Students, Graduates and Holders of Office at the University of Cambridge, from the Earliest Times to 1900. Vol. 1. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 123. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
^ ^a ^b Parker, C. (2003). "Papers of Sir Jervoise Athelstane Baines, and his son-in-law, Philip Edward Percival, both of the Indian Civil Service, 1862–1929". Bodleian Library, University of Oxford. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Sir Athelstane Baines". Nature. 116 (2929): 909. 19 December 1925. Bibcode:1925Natur.116Q.909.. doi:10.1038/116909a0.
^ "No. 26472". The London Gazette. 2 January 1894. p. 2.
^ "No. 27821". The London Gazette. 25 July 1905. p. 5143.
^ "Past Presidents". The Royal Statistical Society. Archived from the original on 17 March 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
^ Fitzpatrick, Paul J. (1960). "Leading British Statisticians of the Nineteenth Century". Journal of the American Statistical Association. 55 (289): 50. doi:10.1080/01621459.1960.10482048.(subscription required)
^ "Previous recipients: Guy Medal in Gold". The Royal Statistical Society. Archived from the original on 17 March 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
^ List of Honorary Members, Honorary Corresponding Members and Fellows (PDF). London: Royal Geographical Society. 1921. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
^ "Elie House in Nanthancode stands tall - The Hindu". The Hindu.
^ "Fading MEMORIES - TVDM - The Hindu". The Hindu.
^ Baines, Athelstane (1912). Ethnography (castes and tribes). Strassburg: Karl J. Trübner. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
^ Baines, Jervoise Athelstane (July 1916). "The Recent Trend of Population in England and Wales". Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. 79 (4): 399–417. doi:10.2307/2341000. JSTOR 2341000.(subscription required)

[1] Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles. Armorial families : a directory of gentlemen of coat-armour (Fifth ed.). Edinburgh: T. C. & E. C. Jack. p. 20. Retrieved 15 May 2012.

[Times-2] "Obituary: Sir Athelstane Baines". The Times. London. 27 November 1925.

[List1905p431-3] rection of the Secretary of State for India in Council (1905). The India List and India Office List for 1905. London: Harrison and Sons. p. 431. Retrieved 16 May 2012.

[RSS1926-4] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h R.H.R.; S. de J. (January 1926). "Obituary: Sir Athelstane Baines, C.S.I.". Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. 89 (1). London: Royal Statistical Society: 182–184. JSTOR 2341501.(subscription required)

[Venn-5] Venn, John Archibald, ed. (1940). Alumni Cantabrigienses; a Biographical List of All Known Students, Graduates and Holders of Office at the University of Cambridge, from the Earliest Times to 1900. Vol. 1. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 123. Retrieved 15 May 2012.

[Bodleian-6] Parker, C. (2003). "Papers of Sir Jervoise Athelstane Baines, and his son-in-law, Philip Edward Percival, both of the Indian Civil Service, 1862–1929". Bodleian Library, University of Oxford. Retrieved 15 May 2012.

[Nature1909p909-7] "Sir Athelstane Baines". Nature. 116 (2929): 909. 19 December 1925. Bibcode:1925Natur.116Q.909.. doi:10.1038/116909a0.

[8] "No. 26472". The London Gazette. 2 January 1894. p. 2.

[9] "No. 27821". The London Gazette. 25 July 1905. p. 5143.

[10] "Past Presidents". The Royal Statistical Society. Archived from the original on 17 March 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2012.

[11] Fitzpatrick, Paul J. (1960). "Leading British Statisticians of the Nineteenth Century". Journal of the American Statistical Association. 55 (289): 50. doi:10.1080/01621459.1960.10482048.(subscription required)

[12] "Previous recipients: Guy Medal in Gold". The Royal Statistical Society. Archived from the original on 17 March 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2012.

[13] List of Honorary Members, Honorary Corresponding Members and Fellows (PDF). London: Royal Geographical Society. 1921. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2012.

[14] "Elie House in Nanthancode stands tall - The Hindu". The Hindu.

[15] "Fading MEMORIES - TVDM - The Hindu". The Hindu.

[16] Baines, Athelstane (1912). Ethnography (castes and tribes). Strassburg: Karl J. Trübner. Retrieved 15 May 2012.

[17] Baines, Jervoise Athelstane (July 1916). "The Recent Trend of Population in England and Wales". Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. 79 (4): 399–417. doi:10.2307/2341000. JSTOR 2341000.(subscription required)

[1]

v t e Presidents of the Royal Statistical Society
19th century	1834–1836 The Marquess of Lansdowne 1836–1838 Sir Charles Lemon, Bt 1838–1840 The Earl FitzWilliam 1840–1842 Viscount Sandon 1842–1843 The Marquess of Lansdowne 1843–1845 Lord Ashley 1845–1847 The Lord Monteagle of Brandon 1847–1849 The Earl FitzWilliam 1849–1851 The Earl of Harrowby 1851–1853 The Lord Overstone 1853–1855 The Earl FitzWilliam 1855–1857 The Earl of Harrowby 1857–1859 Lord Stanley 1859–1861 Lord John Russell 1861–1863 Sir John Pakington, Bt 1863–1865 William Henry Sykes 1865–1867 The Lord Houghton 1867–1869 William Ewart Gladstone 1869–1871 William Newmarch 1871–1873 William Farr 1873–1875 William Guy 1875–1877 James Heywood 1877–1879 George Shaw-Lefevre 1879–1880 Thomas Brassey 1880–1882 James Caird 1882–1884 Robert Giffen 1884–1886 Rawson W. Rawson 1886–1888 George Goschen 1888–1890 Thomas Graham Balfour 1890–1892 Frederic J. Mouat 1892–1894 Charles Booth 1894–1896 The Lord Farrer 1896–1897 John Biddulph Martin 1897 Alfred Edmund Bateman 1897–1899 Leonard Courtney 1899–1900 Henry Fowler 1900–1902 The Lord Avebury
20th century	1902–1904 Patrick George Craigie 1904–1905 Sir Francis Powell, Bt 1905–1906 The Earl of Onslow 1906–1907 Richard Martin 1907–1909 Sir Charles Dilke, Bt 1909–1910 Jervoise Athelstane Baines 1910–1912 Lord George Hamilton 1912–1914 Francis Ysidro Edgeworth 1914–1915 The Lord Welby 1915–1916 Lord George Hamilton 1916–1918 Bernard Mallet, Registrar General 1918–1920 Herbert Samuel 1920–1922 R. Henry Rew 1922–1924 The Lord Emmott 1924–1926 Udny Yule 1926–1928 The Viscount D'Abernon 1928–1930 A. William Flux 1930–1932 Sir Josiah Stamp 1932–1934 The Lord Meston 1934–1936 Major Greenwood 1936–1938 The Lord Kennet 1938–1940 Arthur Lyon Bowley 1940–1941 Henry William Macrosty 1941 Hector Leak 1941–1943 William Beveridge 1943–1945 Ernest Charles Snow 1945–1947 The Lord Woolton 1947–1949 David Heron 1949–1950 Sir Geoffrey Heyworth 1950–1952 Austin Bradford Hill 1952–1954 Ronald Fisher 1954–1955 The Lord Piercy 1955–1957 Egon Pearson 1957–1959 Harry Campion 1959–1960 Hugh Beaver 1960–1962 Maurice Kendall 1962–1964 Joseph Oscar Irwin 1964–1965 Sir Paul Chambers 1965–1966 L. H. C. Tippett 1966–1967 M. S. Bartlett 1967–1968 Frank Yates 1968–1969 Arthur Cockfield 1969–1970 R. G. D. Allen 1970–1971 Bernard Benjamin 1971–1972 George Alfred Barnard 1972–1973 Harold Wilson 1973–1974 D. J. Finney 1974–1975 Henry Daniels 1975–1977 Stella Cunliffe 1977–1978 Henry Wynn 1978–1980 Sir Claus Moser 1980–1982 David Cox 1982–1984 Peter Armitage 1984–1985 Walter Bodmer 1985–1986 John Nelder 1986–1987 James Durbin 1987–1989 John Kingman 1989–1991 Peter G. Moore 1991–1993 T. M. F. Smith 1993–1995 D. J. Bartholomew 1995–1997 Adrian Smith 1997–1999 Robert Nicholas Curnow 1999–2001 Denise Lievesley
21st century	2001–2003 Peter Green 2003–2005 Andy Grieve 2005–2007 Tim Holt 2008–2009 David Hand 2010–2010 Bernard Silverman (resigned Feb 2010; replaced pro tem by David Hand) 2011–2012 Valerie Isham 2013–2014 John Pullinger 2014–2016 Peter Diggle 2017–2018 David Spiegelhalter 2019– Deborah Ashby
Category List

Authority control databases
International	ISNI VIAF WorldCat
National	Germany United States France BnF data Netherlands Norway Israel
People	DDB
Other	IdRef SNAC

Early life

India

Later life and recognition

Works

See also

References