1839

December 18, 1839, the ASA elected its first officers. During the second meeting of the ASA, the young society elected 15 officers: President Richard Fletcher, two vice presidents, a recording secretary, a home secretary, a foreign secretary, and nine counselors. The entire list of ASA presidents is available on Wikipedia.

1960

December 27–30, 1960, the ASA had two meetings: the “Joint Meetings,” which were held in August, and the “Allied Social Science Association” meeting, which was held in December in St. Louis, Missouri. The joint association included the Academy of Management, American Association of University Teachers of Insurance, American Economic Association, American Farm Economic Association, American Finance Association, American Marketing Association, Catholic Economic Association, Econometric Society, Industrial Relations Research Association, and Regional Science Association.

1962

Fred Mosteller of Harvard University wrote about his experience with the “Continental Classroom” program in an article published in the December 1962 issue of The American Statistician. “Continental Classroom” was the first nationwide effort at distance learning. In the late 1950s, NBC began broadcasting a four-year series on physics, chemistry, mathematics, and government. The mathematics year consisted of algebra and a probability and statistics strand taught by Mosteller.

1988

In December, the board voted to establish the ASA Founders Award to recognize members who have rendered distinguished service to the Association. The first awards were presented to Fred Leone and Margaret Martin.

1989

On December 9, 1989, 100 members attended the sesquicentennial banquet at the Omni Parker House in Boston, Massachusetts. The Parker House was only a short distance from the location of the founding site of the association, 15 Cornhill Street.

1990

December 1990 was the last time 31 members met as the ASA Board of Directors. Under the new ASA Constitution, the Council of Sections and Council of Chapters were granted more autonomy and elections for a 16-person board took place for the first time in the spring of 1991.

1996

The Washington Statistical Society celebrated the 100-year anniversary of the American Statistical Association’s first meeting in Washington.

1998

The Center for Statistics Education held an open house to provide staff and members an opportunity to view the expanded dedicated space for statistics education. ASA Fellow Richard Scheaffer (ASA president in 2001) accepted the ASA’s invitation to install the new plaque designating the center.

Famous December Birthdays

Harry Clyde Carver, Ada Byron Lady Lovelace, Frederick Mosteller, Janet Norwood, Donald Rubin, and Helen Walker