Rudolf Wolf's Contribution to the Buffon Needle Problem (an Early Monte Carlo Experiment) and Application of Least Squares

Rudolf Wolf (1816.1893) is well known for his fundamental work on sunspot periodicity (see Izenman 1985) and his famous work in the history of astronomy.His experiment with Buffon's needle is known and was reported by Uspensky (1937). Wolf's (1850a) paper, which demonstrates the principle of estimating a parameter in a case where it is not easy to give a mathematical model, was new for his time.In this respect, Wolf's paper can be called a forerunner of the Monte Carlo method.