Shenton

Leonard R. Shenton

Leonard R. Shenton passed away peacefully at his home November 19, 2013, at the age of 104. Born on February 4, 1909, in Talk O’th Hill, England, he attended grammar school in Manchester.

Seven years ago, he recalled to Kimiko Bowman—his student and longtime collaborator—that the grammar school he went to was strong on mathematics: “The headmaster had written a book on applied mathematics (Newtonian mechanics), working under the guidance of A.C. Aiken.” It was during that time he became well known with the textbook, written by Witaker and Watson, A Course of Modern Analysis.

Around 1962, Shenton came to the United States and took a job at Virginia Polytechnic Institute. “The general impression I got from the department,” he told Bowman, “was very friendly and [made up of a] hard-working group of faculty members and students.” It was there he met Bowman, whom he worked with for the next 45 years.

He was an elected member of the International Statistical Institute and the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a Fellow of the American Statistical Association.