Life expectancy

The Life Expectancy Lies That Won't Die
vlogbrothers | 8 Sept. 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6B209EM_IJM

4:07 For my wikipedian genealogies with statistics (latest tracing ancestry of Eugene of Savoy to 1400's*), I actually give minima, maxima, medians, lower and higher quartiles.

AND I admit, though it was some time ago, that this gives an "ancestor bias" which like "professional bias" means, the persons would have lived past childhood.

Taking Eugene of Savoy stats:

Men died

Min 25, Lower Quartile 38, Median 51, Higher Quartile 58, Max 72

Women died

Min 20 or 21, Lower Quartile 34, Median 55, Higher Quartile 68, Max 86

So, half the men died between 38 and 58. Half the women died between 34 and 68.

We can take marriage too:

Men married

Min 14, Lower Quartile 22.5, Median 25, Higher Quartile 31.5, Max 47

Women married

Min 11 or 14 (depending on how you count), Lower Quartile, 15.5 or 16, Median, 17.5 or 18, Higher Quartile 21.5 or 22.5, Max 35

The words "depending on how you count" refer to a marriage and its consummation at 15, which only in the legal case is the lowest age. There are other discrepancies, since for some women the birthyear or even the year of marriage is not given on wiki.

Do you find these statistics surprising or (if you admit ancestor bias) misleading?**

5:42 Checking your stats link:***

For example, 15-year-olds in 1816 in France had a life expectancy of 58 years. By 2021, the life expectancy of 15-year-olds increased to 83.

This obviously doesn't cover all ages, just the ones we have good statistics for.

* Φιλολoγικά/Philologica: Eugene of Savoy
Saturday, August 22, 2026 | Posted by Hans Georg Lundahl at 9:01 AM
https://filolohika.blogspot.com/2026/08/eugene-of-savoy.html

** Giving him a week to answer before this is published.

*** Meanwhile, living to 58 when if surviving to 15 is a fairly good match for the statistics I have given for previous centuries. Here is the link:

Key Insights on Life Expectancy: Life expectancy has increased at all ages
https://ourworldindata.org/life-expectancy?insight=life-expectancy-has-increased-at-all-ages#research-writing