Henry Ellis Daniels
FRS (2 October 1912 – 16 April 2000)
was a British
statistician. He was
President of the Royal Statistical Society
The president of the Royal Statistical Society is the head of the Royal Statistical Society (RSS), elected biennially by the Fellows of the Society. (The time-period between elections has varied in the past, and in fact elections only rarely occur ...
(1974–1975), and was awarded its
Guy Medal
The Guy Medals are awarded by the Royal Statistical Society in three categories; Gold, Silver and Bronze. The Silver and Bronze medals are awarded annually. The Gold Medal was awarded every three years between 1987 and 2011, but is awarded biennia ...
in Gold in 1984, following a silver medal in 1947. He became a Fellow of the
Royal Society of London
The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
in 1980. The
Parry-Daniels map is named after him (together with the
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
mathematician
A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems.
Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change.
History
On ...
Bill Parry).
Daniels' family was
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
, of
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
(partly
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
and partly
Lithuanian) origin.
He was educated at
George Heriot's School
George Heriot's School is a Scottish independent primary and secondary day school on Lauriston Place in the Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland. In the early 21st century, it has more than 1600 pupils, 155 teaching staff, and 80 non-teaching staff. ...
.
He subsequently graduated from the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
(, PhD 1943) and went on to further study at
Clare College, Cambridge
Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refound ...
(B.A. 1935). In 1957, he became the first Professor of Mathematical Statistics at the
University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingha ...
.
He stayed at the university till his retirement in 1978. After retirement, he went to Cambridge and lived there until his death.
He died at
Royal Shrewsbury Hospital
The Royal Shrewsbury Hospital is a teaching hospital in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. It forms the Shrewsbury site of the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, serving patients from Shropshire (including Telford and Wrekin) and Powys ...
, having suffered a "massive stroke" at breakfast time the previous day.
His funeral was officiated, at his request, by a
humanist
Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry.
The meaning of the term "human ...
.
The watchmaker
George Daniels (no relation) enlisted Daniels' help with the equations required for the design of his ''Space Traveller's Watch''.
In 1950, Daniels married Barbara Pickering; together, they had two children.
Selected publications by Daniels
*
*
References
External links
Photograph
1912 births
2000 deaths
British Jews
Jewish scientists
British statisticians
British people of Polish-Jewish descent
British people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent
British people of Russian-Jewish descent
Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge
Academics of the University of Birmingham
Fellows of King's College, Cambridge
Fellows of the Royal Society
Presidents of the Royal Statistical Society
20th-century British mathematicians
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