Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 July 2016
I show that the sum of independent random variables converges in distribution when suitably normalised, so long as the Xk satisfy the following two conditions: μ(n)= E |Xn| is comparable with E |Sn| for large n, and Xk/μ(k) converges in distribution. Also I consider the associated birth process X(t) = max{n: Sn ≦ t} when each Xk is positive, and I show that there exists a continuous increasing function v(t) such that for some variable Y with specified distribution, and for almost all u. The function v, satisfies v (t) = A (1 + o (t)) log t. The Markovian birth process with parameters λn = λn, where 0 < λ < 1, is an example of such a process.