title: The problematic unity of biometrics.
abstract: The word "biometry" may be less than 200 years old, but it can be argued that work we would now consider biometric dates back even to the pre-Christian era. The unity of biometry is attested through examples spanning two millennia, and a lesson from Francis Galton is recalled from a century ago.
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Stigler
mesh_terms: D001699:Biometry / Q000266:history; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic / Q000266:history; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049690:History, Ancient; D049691:History, Medieval; D006801:Humans; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D015233:Models, Statistical; D010506:Periodicals as Topic / Q000266:history; D011336:Probability