American Statistical Association History of Statistics
@hos-asa.bsky.social
The ASA History of Statistics Interest Group brings together everyone with an active interest in the history of statistics to share research and resources.
Leonard (Jimmie) Savage b #OTD 1917 (d 1 Nov 1971) Guggenheim fellow 1951 President IMS 1957. Founder & Chair Chicago Statistics Dept. Best known for work on subjective probability & expected utility theory. ASA & IMS sponsored his memorial volume in 1981 1/3
November 20, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Leonard (Jimmie) Savage b #OTD 1917 (d 1 Nov 1971) Guggenheim fellow 1951 President IMS 1957. Founder & Chair Chicago Statistics Dept. Best known for work on subjective probability & expected utility theory. ASA & IMS sponsored his memorial volume in 1981 1/3
#OTD 1891, Karl Pearson gives his Gresham lecture on "The Geometry of Statistics" in which he presents graphs showing distributions of deaths & discusses actuarial methods, variation, & chance. He later expands on these ideas in his 1897 book The Chances of Death
November 19, 2025 at 11:14 AM
#OTD 1891, Karl Pearson gives his Gresham lecture on "The Geometry of Statistics" in which he presents graphs showing distributions of deaths & discusses actuarial methods, variation, & chance. He later expands on these ideas in his 1897 book The Chances of Death
Happy belated 🎂 to David L Sackett (17 Nov 1934-13 May 2015) FRSC OC. With Archie Cochrane, father of modern clinical epidemiology and evidence-based medicine (which he explicitly defined in 1996). 1/2
November 18, 2025 at 10:00 AM
Happy belated 🎂 to David L Sackett (17 Nov 1934-13 May 2015) FRSC OC. With Archie Cochrane, father of modern clinical epidemiology and evidence-based medicine (which he explicitly defined in 1996). 1/2
2/ He starts by suggesting a visit to the market to check out “fish, vegetable marrow, screws & tennis bats” to grasp the concept of patterns of variation. The 2nd lecture involves “applications of geometry to statistical data”, what we now call data visualization and graphical statistics
November 17, 2025 at 1:46 PM
2/ He starts by suggesting a visit to the market to check out “fish, vegetable marrow, screws & tennis bats” to grasp the concept of patterns of variation. The 2nd lecture involves “applications of geometry to statistical data”, what we now call data visualization and graphical statistics
István Hatvani d #OTD 1786 (b 21 Nov 1718). First Hungarian to apply the law of large numbers to mortality statistics he studied with Johann & Daniel Bernouilli, was an early proponent of probability theory 1757 & advocated quantitative methods when philosophical deductive methods predominated
November 16, 2025 at 11:06 AM
István Hatvani d #OTD 1786 (b 21 Nov 1718). First Hungarian to apply the law of large numbers to mortality statistics he studied with Johann & Daniel Bernouilli, was an early proponent of probability theory 1757 & advocated quantitative methods when philosophical deductive methods predominated
In Nov 1904 Karl Pearson introduces the first clinical meta-analysis evaluating effectiveness of typhoid inoculations for British soldiers. He gives a pooled estimate of effect & comments on the ‘significance’ of correlations between inoculation, escape, & recovery.
November 15, 2025 at 2:53 PM
In Nov 1904 Karl Pearson introduces the first clinical meta-analysis evaluating effectiveness of typhoid inoculations for British soldiers. He gives a pooled estimate of effect & comments on the ‘significance’ of correlations between inoculation, escape, & recovery.
#OTD 1716 Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz d (b 1 Jul 1646) Although he is best known for his work on differential & integral calculus, & the binary system of arithmetic, he also invented an early calculating machine (‘stepped reckoner’) c 1672. 1/2
November 14, 2025 at 2:58 PM
#OTD 1716 Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz d (b 1 Jul 1646) Although he is best known for his work on differential & integral calculus, & the binary system of arithmetic, he also invented an early calculating machine (‘stepped reckoner’) c 1672. 1/2
Joseph L Fleiss b #OTD 1937 (d 12 Jun 2003) ASA Fellow 1973, President ENAR 1986. Best known for work on intraclass correlation & rater agreement, his 1974 paper showed that different psychiatric providers were rarely in agreement when using DSM-II to diagnose patients with similar problems
November 13, 2025 at 10:46 AM
Joseph L Fleiss b #OTD 1937 (d 12 Jun 2003) ASA Fellow 1973, President ENAR 1986. Best known for work on intraclass correlation & rater agreement, his 1974 paper showed that different psychiatric providers were rarely in agreement when using DSM-II to diagnose patients with similar problems
2/The 1756 4th edition of his 1738 book The Doctrine of Chances includes the first formal statement of the normal distribution. The formula did not look like it does now because at the time there was no standard notation for the constant e=2.71828 & no idea of standard deviation σ.
November 12, 2025 at 7:35 PM
2/The 1756 4th edition of his 1738 book The Doctrine of Chances includes the first formal statement of the normal distribution. The formula did not look like it does now because at the time there was no standard notation for the constant e=2.71828 & no idea of standard deviation σ.
Happy 🎂 to the normal curve! #OTD 1733 Abraham de Moivre published a description in Latin. It had the catchy title Approximatio ad Summam Terminorum Binomii (a + b)n in Seriem expansi [Approximation of the Sum of the Terms of the Binomial (a + b)n expanded into a Series] 1/2
November 12, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Happy 🎂 to the normal curve! #OTD 1733 Abraham de Moivre published a description in Latin. It had the catchy title Approximatio ad Summam Terminorum Binomii (a + b)n in Seriem expansi [Approximation of the Sum of the Terms of the Binomial (a + b)n expanded into a Series] 1/2
#OTD 1918 the Armistice was signed, ending the fighting in WWI. Casualties among French mathematicians were enormous as they were not a protected category, unlike in Germany & Britain. Among them was Major André-Louis Cholesky 1/2
November 11, 2025 at 12:18 PM
#OTD 1918 the Armistice was signed, ending the fighting in WWI. Casualties among French mathematicians were enormous as they were not a protected category, unlike in Germany & Britain. Among them was Major André-Louis Cholesky 1/2
2/ He was the son of statistician Louis-Adolphe & brother of Alphonse, creator of the Bertillon biometric method & inventor of the mugshot. Here is Jacques’ mugshot
November 11, 2025 at 12:12 PM
2/ He was the son of statistician Louis-Adolphe & brother of Alphonse, creator of the Bertillon biometric method & inventor of the mugshot. Here is Jacques’ mugshot
Jacques Bertillon b #OTD 1851 (d 4 July 1922)
Chief Statistician of Paris, Honorary ASA Fellow & RSS Fellow. Best known for his work on disease classification, he led the charge in promoting the combined application of statistics & data visualization methods for medicine & social sciences 1/2
Chief Statistician of Paris, Honorary ASA Fellow & RSS Fellow. Best known for his work on disease classification, he led the charge in promoting the combined application of statistics & data visualization methods for medicine & social sciences 1/2
November 11, 2025 at 12:12 PM
Jacques Bertillon b #OTD 1851 (d 4 July 1922)
Chief Statistician of Paris, Honorary ASA Fellow & RSS Fellow. Best known for his work on disease classification, he led the charge in promoting the combined application of statistics & data visualization methods for medicine & social sciences 1/2
Chief Statistician of Paris, Honorary ASA Fellow & RSS Fellow. Best known for his work on disease classification, he led the charge in promoting the combined application of statistics & data visualization methods for medicine & social sciences 1/2
Beginning Nov 1924, studies on the effect of lighting on worker productivity were performed at the Western Electric Hawthorn Plant. These were the basis for the concept of the Hawthorne Effect 1/2
November 10, 2025 at 10:09 AM
Beginning Nov 1924, studies on the effect of lighting on worker productivity were performed at the Western Electric Hawthorn Plant. These were the basis for the concept of the Hawthorne Effect 1/2
Leonard Henry Caleb (L.H.C).Tippett d #OTD 1985 (b 8 May 1902) ASA Fellow 1950, Guy Silver Medal, President RSS 1965, Shewhart Medal. A father of statistical operations research, he invented the random number table 1927 & developed extreme value theory with Fisher and Emil Gumbel 1/3
November 9, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Leonard Henry Caleb (L.H.C).Tippett d #OTD 1985 (b 8 May 1902) ASA Fellow 1950, Guy Silver Medal, President RSS 1965, Shewhart Medal. A father of statistical operations research, he invented the random number table 1927 & developed extreme value theory with Fisher and Emil Gumbel 1/3
George Dantzig b #OTD 1914 (d 13 May 2005). “Father of linear programming”, John von Neumann Theory Prize, National Medal of Science (1975) The most famous story about him is the basis for the story line of the movie “Good Will Hunting” 1/5 🧵
November 8, 2025 at 9:20 AM
George Dantzig b #OTD 1914 (d 13 May 2005). “Father of linear programming”, John von Neumann Theory Prize, National Medal of Science (1975) The most famous story about him is the basis for the story line of the movie “Good Will Hunting” 1/5 🧵
Arthur L Bowley b #OTD 1869 (d 21 Jan 1957) KBE, Guy Silver (1895) & Gold (1935) Medals, President RSS 1938-40. In 1919 he became one of the first Chair of Statistics in the UK. He,Yule & Edgeworth were the only RSS members interested in mathematical statistics for decades 1/2
November 6, 2025 at 2:11 PM
Arthur L Bowley b #OTD 1869 (d 21 Jan 1957) KBE, Guy Silver (1895) & Gold (1935) Medals, President RSS 1938-40. In 1919 he became one of the first Chair of Statistics in the UK. He,Yule & Edgeworth were the only RSS members interested in mathematical statistics for decades 1/2
Ida Craven Merriam b #OTD 1904 (d 8 Apr 1997) ASA Fellow 1965. Director of Research and Assistant Commissioner of the Office of Research and Statistics for the Social Security Administration, she built SAA research operations into “one of the very best in the federal government”.
November 6, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Ida Craven Merriam b #OTD 1904 (d 8 Apr 1997) ASA Fellow 1965. Director of Research and Assistant Commissioner of the Office of Research and Statistics for the Social Security Administration, she built SAA research operations into “one of the very best in the federal government”.
Hirotugu Akaike b #OTD 1927 (d 4 Aug 2009) ASA Fellow 1981, RSS Fellow. His information criterion AIC was first presented in English in 1971. The 1974 publication is one of the top-cited statistics articles of all time, but AIC is now so commonly used it isn’t cited anymore
November 5, 2025 at 10:33 AM
Hirotugu Akaike b #OTD 1927 (d 4 Aug 2009) ASA Fellow 1981, RSS Fellow. His information criterion AIC was first presented in English in 1971. The 1974 publication is one of the top-cited statistics articles of all time, but AIC is now so commonly used it isn’t cited anymore
Joseph Stancliffe Davis b #OTD 1885 (d 23 April 1975)
ASA Fellow 1924; 31st ASA President 1936. Director of Stanford’s Food Research Institute & international authority on world food production, he was an economist & member of Council of Economic Advisers to President Eisenhower
ASA Fellow 1924; 31st ASA President 1936. Director of Stanford’s Food Research Institute & international authority on world food production, he was an economist & member of Council of Economic Advisers to President Eisenhower
November 5, 2025 at 10:30 AM
Joseph Stancliffe Davis b #OTD 1885 (d 23 April 1975)
ASA Fellow 1924; 31st ASA President 1936. Director of Stanford’s Food Research Institute & international authority on world food production, he was an economist & member of Council of Economic Advisers to President Eisenhower
ASA Fellow 1924; 31st ASA President 1936. Director of Stanford’s Food Research Institute & international authority on world food production, he was an economist & member of Council of Economic Advisers to President Eisenhower
#OTD 2023 Colin Lingwood Mallows d (b 10 September 1930) ASA Fellow 1969; Elected Fellow IMS, RSS. Best known for the Cp statistic for regression model diagnostics developed with Cuthbert Daniel. They called it C after themselves, Cuthbert & Colin (p is the number of variables) 1/2
November 4, 2025 at 11:29 AM
#OTD 2023 Colin Lingwood Mallows d (b 10 September 1930) ASA Fellow 1969; Elected Fellow IMS, RSS. Best known for the Cp statistic for regression model diagnostics developed with Cuthbert Daniel. They called it C after themselves, Cuthbert & Colin (p is the number of variables) 1/2
#OTD 1726 James Stirling was elected Fellow of the Royal Society. It cost him £20 to resign when he could no longer afford the annual fee. His main contribution to statistics is Stirling's asymptotic approximation for factorials fundamental to combinatorics & approximating gamma distribution.
November 3, 2025 at 10:40 AM
#OTD 1726 James Stirling was elected Fellow of the Royal Society. It cost him £20 to resign when he could no longer afford the annual fee. His main contribution to statistics is Stirling's asymptotic approximation for factorials fundamental to combinatorics & approximating gamma distribution.
#OTD 1815 George Boole b (d 8 Dec 1864) FRS ‘Father of binary logic’ best known for his system of Boolean logic, foundation for modern computing. His 1854 book “Laws of Thought” proposes methods to determine probabilities of events logically associated with any system of events. 1/2
November 2, 2025 at 10:13 AM
#OTD 1815 George Boole b (d 8 Dec 1864) FRS ‘Father of binary logic’ best known for his system of Boolean logic, foundation for modern computing. His 1854 book “Laws of Thought” proposes methods to determine probabilities of events logically associated with any system of events. 1/2
5/ Edmund Halley (1656-1742, the comet guy) developed a life table based on birth & death records for Breslau. It showed numbers surviving to any age from a cohort born the same year. He was not very interested in medical applications of his tables, preferring them for computing annuity prices.
November 1, 2025 at 11:05 AM
5/ Edmund Halley (1656-1742, the comet guy) developed a life table based on birth & death records for Breslau. It showed numbers surviving to any age from a cohort born the same year. He was not very interested in medical applications of his tables, preferring them for computing annuity prices.
2/ John Graunt (1620-1674) the 'Father of Demography', used existing “Bills of Mortality’ to make rough classifications of major causes of death, providing the template for later numerical analyses of demographic & health data.
November 1, 2025 at 11:05 AM
2/ John Graunt (1620-1674) the 'Father of Demography', used existing “Bills of Mortality’ to make rough classifications of major causes of death, providing the template for later numerical analyses of demographic & health data.