John Graunt is considered the first epidemiologist (Rothman, 1996). In the 17th century
he published a book, entitled Natural and Political Observations Mentioned in a Following
Index, and Made upon the Bills of Mortality (Graunt, 1665), and also produced a
weekly report, Bills of Mortality. He first described the relationship between population
size and disease and was able to provide an estimate of the population of the city