Rensis Likert made a tremendous impact on the development of social statistics. Read about his famous “Likert scale,” which has been adopted throughout the world, his service to the ASA, and how he set up the Survey Research Center at the University of Michigan.
Statisticians in History
Sandra Stinnett
In 1987, Stinnett took a break from her studies to work for Dennis Gillings and his rapidly developing company, Quintiles—a fully integrated bio and pharmaceutical services provider offering clinical, commercial, consulting, and capital solutions—in Chapel Hill. For six months, she lived in London while developing Quintiles’ first foreign office.
Stuart Arthur Rice
Stuart Arthur Rice, president of the American Statistical Association in 1933, had a career that can, in one sense, be epitomized as the evolution of a student activist and young radical political party worker to social worker, to student and teacher of sociology, to statistician and statistical statesman.
Walter F. Willcox: Statist
Willcox was responsible for initiating one of the earliest university courses in statistics in the United States. Prior to the 1890s, only seven institutions offered courses, described as including statistics.
Walter A. Shewhart
The world knows him for the Shewhart control charts, and the world lives better for them. They are, however, only one of his statistical contributions. He leaves a rich legacy that will take years to absorb.
Morris Hansen
Morris Howard Hansen has been referred to as the 20th century’s most influential statistician when it comes to the evolution of survey methodology. He also influenced and inspired others. What’s interesting is that he didn’t start out wanting to be a statistician.
Nancy M. Gordon
Nancy Gordon’s career has focused on providing unbiased and reliable information for decisionmaking. At the U.S. Census Bureau, which she joined in 1995, data collection and dissemination have been her primary responsibilities.
Frederick Mosteller
Charles Frederick Mosteller was one of the towering figures in twentieth-century statistics.
Arnold Zellner
Kathy Morrissey interviewed Arnold to learn more about him as a person: his childhood, early career, and interests. This is what she found.
John W. Tukey
As one of the most influential statisticians of the last 50 years, John Wilder Tukey developed many important tools of modern statistics and introduced concepts that were central to the creation of today’s telecommunications technologies. In addition to his formidable research achievements,