Chad Lower, an instructor at Wilson College, introduces his introductory statistics students to a different famous statistician each week, helping them see why statistics matters beyond the formulas.
statisticians in history
David H. Blackwell (1919–2010)
David Blackwell, a pioneering African American mathematician and statistician, made significant contributions to statistical decision theory and game theory, notably co-authoring Theory of Games and Statistical Decisions. He had an impactful career as a professor, researcher, and advocate for statistical methods, becoming the first African American elected to the National Academy of Sciences.
Florence N. David
David worked throughout World War II in the statistical sciences. She was an experimental officer for the Ordinance Board at the Ministry of Supply and a senior statistician for the Research and Experiments Department at the Ministry of Home Security. She was also a member of the Land Mines Committee at the Scientific Advisory Council and a scientific advisor on mines for the Military Experimental Establishment.
Emil Gumbel
Gumbel, sometimes called an “apostle of peace,” tracked political assassinations—among other data—in Germany prior to the outbreak of WWII.
Irving J. Good (1916–2009)
Irving J. Good was born in London in 1916 and became proficient in mental arithmetic by the age of nine. Lying in bed with diphtheria, he turned over in his mind his sister’s lesson on square roots. On his own, he realized the irrationality of the square root of two and solved Pell’s equation. The […]
The Origins of Statistical Computing
David Alan Grier Interest in statistical computing began not with the invention of the personal computer in the 1980s or even with the rise of the large mainframe computer during the 1960s. Statistical computing became a popular field for study during the 1920s and 1930s, as universities and research labs began to acquire the early […]