This study discusses the history of the central limit theorem and
related probabilistic limit theorems from about 1810 through 1950. In
this context the book also describes the historical development of
analytical probability theory and its tools, such as characteristic
functions or moments. The central limit theorem was originally deduced
by Laplace as a statement about approximations for the distributions of
sums of independent random variables within the framework of classical
probability, which focused upon specific problems and applications.
Making this theorem an autonomous mathematical object was very important
for the development of modern probability theory.