Considered the pioneer of the social-survey research method, Pierre Guilliame Frédéric Le Play was born on April 11, 1806, at La Rivière, Saint-Sauveur (Calvados). From 1818 to 1822 he studied the classics at the College du Havre where he earned his undergraduate degree. After spending a year working as an engineer, he went to Paris to study at the CollSge Saint-Louis, the École polytechnique, and the École des mines. During his academic period, Le Play showed intense interest in the study of social conditions. In 1829, while on a walking tour of the forests and mines of Hartz, he lived with a mining family. From this experience, he wrote his first case study of family budgets, a methodology he adhered to in his later studies. The next year he was severely injured in an explosion at the school's chemical lab. Initially not expected to live...