The Whittaker-Henderson Method of Graduation

Mr Elphinstone, in his recent paper to the Faculty of Actuaries, has reawakened interest in the method of graduation devised by Sir Edmund T. Whittaker some 32 years ago. Except for Professor A. C. Aitken who, in a paper( in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and a note in the Transactions of the Faculty of Actuaries, gave a brilliant alternative solution of the equations on which Whittaker's method depends, English and Scottish writers have paid little attention to the method. Robert Henderson's paper published in 1924 stimulated American actuaries, and their investigations have continued up to the present time. The book by Kingsland Camp (reviewed J.I.A. lxxvii, 327) gives numerous practical developments of Robert Henderson's work. Students should not overlook a most valuable paper by Charles A. Spoerl which deals comprehensively with almost every aspect of the subject.