Frances Elizabeth Allan (1905–1952) was an Australian statistician. She was known as the first statistician at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (

CSIRO The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentar ...

), as "the effective founder of the CSIRO Division of Mathematics and Statistics", and for her advocacy of

biometrics Biometrics are body measurements and calculations related to human characteristics. Biometric authentication (or realistic authentication) is used in computer science as a form of identification and access control. It is also used to identify in ...

. Allan was born on 11 July 1905 in

St Kilda, Victoria St Kilda is an inner seaside suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 6 km (4 miles) south-east of Melbourne's Melbourne City Centre, Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip Local governmen ...

; her parents were both journalists with '' The Argus'', and she was one of four sisters. As a schoolgirl, she attended the Melbourne Church of England Girls' Grammar School. She studied mathematics at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

, earning a bachelor's degree in 1926 and a master's in 1928 for her work with

John Henry Michell John Henry Michell, FRS (26 October 1863 – 3 February 1940) was an Australian mathematician, Professor of Mathematics at the University of Melbourne. Early life Michell was the son of John Michell (pronounced Mitchell), a miner, and his wife ...

on solitary waves on liquid-liquid interfaces. In 1928 Allan traveled on a scholarship to

Newnham College, Cambridge Newnham College is a women's Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies, members of which included philosopher Henry Sid ...

, where she studied applied mathematics, statistics, applied biology, and general agriculture. A year later, she travelled to

Rothamsted Experimental Station Rothamsted Research, previously known as the Rothamsted Experimental Station and then the Institute of Arable Crops Research, is one of the oldest agricultural research institutions in the world, having been founded in 1843. It is located at Harp ...

in Hertforshire to work alongside

Ronald Fisher Sir Ronald Aylmer Fisher (17 February 1890 – 29 July 1962) was a British polymath who was active as a mathematician, statistician, biologist, geneticist, and academic. For his work in statistics, he has been described as "a genius who a ...

studying crop experiments and developing statistical methods. While at Rothamsted she produced three important papers, collaborating with John Wishart on one. Returning to Australia in 1930, she became the first

biometrician Biostatistics (also known as biometry) are the development and application of statistical methods to a wide range of topics in biology. It encompasses the design of biological experiments, the collection and analysis of data from those experimen ...

, appointed to the Division of Plant Industry. While at CSIRO, she provided statistical assistance to all six divisions alongside external organisations. During her time at CSIRO, Allan also taught at

Canberra University College Canberra University College was a tertiary education institution established in Canberra by the Australian government and the University of Melbourne in 1930. At first it operated in the Telopea Park School premises after hours. Most of the initi ...

and the

Australian Forestry School The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, Australian Capital Territory, Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in additio ...

. In 1935, she helped found the Australian Institute of Agricultural Science. In 1940 she married CSIRO botanist Patrick Joseph Calvert, and was forced to retire by the laws of the time, which banned married women from public service. She died on 6 August 1952 in Canberra. The Betty Allan Data Centre of CSIRO's Queensland Centre for Advanced Technologies is named after her. In 2019 the

Statistical Society of Australia The Statistical Society of Australia (SSA) is the main professional organization for statisticians and related professionals in Australia. It was founded in 1962 to support and unify the work of Australian state statistical societies that were a ...

and Data61 created a joint travel award named in her honour.

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