An Unpublished Memoir by Lagrange in Berlin

Abstract

The memoir on life annuities was written by Lagrange at the beginning of 1776 and presented to the Académie des Sciences of Berlin on the 22nd of February. It contains a critical analysis of the rules of an insurance fund for widows which was to guarantee a pension based on an initial capital paid by the husband, followed by an annual premium during his life. Similar institutions were being founded in this period in various regions of Germany (Hanover, Berlin, and Gotha), as well as in Denmark