Gertrude Mary Cox (January 13, 1900 – October 17, 1978) was an American
statistician and founder of the department of Experimental Statistics at
North Carolina State University. She was later appointed director of both the Institute of Statistics of the
Consolidated University of North Carolina and the Statistics Research Division of North Carolina State University. Her most important and influential research dealt with
experimental design
The design of experiments (DOE, DOX, or experimental design) is the design of any task that aims to describe and explain the variation of information under conditions that are hypothesized to reflect the variation. The term is generally associ ...
; In 1950 she published the book ''Experimental Designs,'' on the subject with
W. G. Cochran, which became the major reference work on the design of experiments for statisticians for years afterwards. In 1949 Cox became the first woman elected into the
International Statistical Institute and in 1956 was
President of the American Statistical Association.
Early life and education
Gertrude Cox was born in
Dayton, Iowa on January 13, 1900.
She studied at Perry High School in
Perry, Iowa
Perry is a city in Dallas County, Iowa, United States, along the North Raccoon River. The population was 7,836 at the time of the 2020 Census. It is part of the Des Moines– West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Formerly a major r ...
, graduating in 1918. At this time she decided to become a deaconess in the
Methodist Church and worked towards that end.
However, in 1925, she decided to continue her education at
Iowa State College
Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...
(which was renamed Iowa State University in 1959) in Ames where she studied mathematics and statistics and was awarded a B.S. in 1929 and a Master's degree in statistics in 1931.
From 1931 to 1933 Cox undertook graduate studies in psychological statistics at the
University of California at Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant uni ...
, then returned to Iowa State College to assist in establishing the new Statistical Laboratory.
Here she worked on the
design of experiments
The design of experiments (DOE, DOX, or experimental design) is the design of any task that aims to describe and explain the variation of information under conditions that are hypothesized to reflect the variation. The term is generally associ ...
.
Academic career
In 1939 Cox was appointed assistant professor of statistics at
Iowa State College
Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...
.
In 1940 Cox was appointed professor of statistics at North Carolina State College (now
North Carolina State University) at Raleigh. There she headed the new department of Experimental Statistics, the first female head of any department at this institution.
In 1945 she became director of the Institute of Statistics of the
Consolidated University of North Carolina, and the Statistics Research Division of the North Carolina State College which was run by
William Gemmell Cochran
William Gemmell Cochran (15 July 1909 – 29 March 1980) was a prominent statistician. He was born in Scotland but spent most of his life in the United States.
Cochran studied mathematics at the University of Glasgow and the University of Cam ...
. In the same year of 1945 Cox became the editor of ''Biometrics Bulletin'' and 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 i ...
'' and she held this editorship for 10 years. When prolific statistician and eugenicist
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 ...
founded the
International Biometric Society in 1947, Cox was one of the founding members.
In 1960 she took up her final post as Director of Statistics at the
Research Triangle Institute
Research Triangle Institute, trading as RTI International, is a nonprofit organization headquartered in the Research Triangle Park in North Carolina. RTI provides research and technical services. It was founded in 1958 with $500,000 in funding fr ...
in Durham, North Carolina. She held this post until she retired in 1965.
After retirement, then worked as a consultant to promote the development of statistical programs in Egypt and Thailand.
Book
In 1950 she published a joint work with William Cochran, ''Experimental Designs'',
which became the major reference work on the
design of experiments
The design of experiments (DOE, DOX, or experimental design) is the design of any task that aims to describe and explain the variation of information under conditions that are hypothesized to reflect the variation. The term is generally associ ...
for statisticians for years afterwards.
Recognition
Cox has received many honors. In 1949, she became the first woman elected into the
International Statistical Institute. In 1956, she was elected President of the
American Statistical Association
The American Statistical Association (ASA) is the main professional organization for statisticians and related professionals in the United States. It was founded in Boston, Massachusetts on November 27, 1839, and is the second oldest continuousl ...
while in 1975 she was elected to the
National Academy of Sciences. She was also a Fellow of the
Institute of Mathematical Statistics
The Institute of Mathematical Statistics is an international professional and scholarly society devoted to the development, dissemination, and application of statistics and probability. The Institute currently has about 4,000 members in all parts o ...
.
The
University of North Carolina system
The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sys ...
named her an O. Max Gardner Award recipient in 1959.
North Carolina State University honored Cox by naming Cox Hall in her honor in 1970, and awarding her a Watauga Medal in 1977. Iowa State College in 1958 awarded her an honorary Doctorate of Science in statistics. The
Caucus for Women in Statistics also established a Gertrude M. Cox Scholarship in 1989.
References
External links
Gertrude Mary Cox Collection, 1918-1983(North Carolina State University Libraries)
Agnes Scott CollegeGuide to the Gertrude Cox Letters to Julie McVay 1963–1971ASA: Gertrude M. CoxNC State University Gertrude Cox Award
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cox, Gertrude Mary
1900 births
1978 deaths
American statisticians
20th-century American mathematicians
American women mathematicians
Women statisticians
20th-century American women scientists
Fellows of the American Statistical Association
Fellows of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics
Presidents of the American Statistical Association
Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
Iowa State University alumni
People from Webster County, Iowa
People from Raleigh, North Carolina
People from Perry, Iowa
Elected Members of the International Statistical Institute
UC Berkeley College of Letters and Science alumni
20th-century women mathematicians
University of California, Berkeley alumni