Edward Dana Durand (1871-1960) was the Director of the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

from 1909-1913, and a Chief economist for the Department of Commerce.

Early life and education

Durand was born in

Romeo, Michigan Romeo is a village in Macomb County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,596 at the 2010 census. The village is situated at the southeast corner of Bruce Township, with a portion extending south into Washington Township. Arma ...

and later settled in

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

with his family. His parents were Cyrus Yale Durand and Celia C. Day., while his great-grandfather was Eunice Yale of

Lee, Massachusetts Lee is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, metropolitan statistical area. The population was 5,788 at the 2020 census. Lee, which includes the villages of South and East Lee, is p ...

. He attended

Yankton College Yankton College is a former private liberal arts college in Yankton, South Dakota, United States, affiliated with the Congregational Christian Churches (later the United Church of Christ). Yankton College produced nine Rhodes Scholars, more than a ...

for one year before transferring to

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...

. He received a Ph.D from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

in 1896.

Career

He then moved to California and became an assistant professor in political economy and finance at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

. From 1900 to 1903, he became a teacher in economics at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, then served as Secretary of the U.S. Industrial Commission. He became Deputy Commissioner of the Bureau of Corporations and was hired as a special expert on the

Standard oil Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co-f ...

investigation.

President Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...

appointed Durand to serve as Director of the United States Census Bureau in 1909. He held the position until 1913. From 1913 to 1917, Durand taught statistics and agricultural economics at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

after which he went on to work for the Commerce Department and the Tariff Commission. In 1921, he helped

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gr ...

as a consultant in economics for his administration as Secretary of Commerce. He then served as Chief of the Eastern European Division of the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce. From 1924 to 1929, he became Chief of the Division of Statistical Research in the Department of Commerce. Toward the end of his career, he occupied the posts of Statistical assistant to the Secretary of Commerce, Chief economist of the U.S. Tariff Commission and then commissioner. Durand retired from the Tariff Commission in 1952.

References

{{reflist American statisticians Oberlin College alumni Cornell University alumni