Huldah Bancroft (died September 25, 1966) was an American biostatistician at

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

, known for her textbook on biostatistics and for her research on tropical infectious diseases including

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

and

leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve damag ...

Education and career

Bancroft graduated from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in 1915; she earned a master's degree at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

and, in 1944, a Ph.D. from

Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a private research university in Cleveland, Ohio. Case Western Reserve was established in 1967, when Western Reserve University, founded in 1826 and named for its location in the Connecticut Western Reser ...

, where she had been working as an assistant professor of biometrics. In 1947 she moved from Case to

, where she was appointed as an associate professor in the newly founded Department of Tropical Diseases and Public Health. By 1961 she had retired.

Book

She published her book ''Introduction to Biostatistics'' with Harper & Row in 1957. A second edition, revised by Johannes Ipsen and Polly Feigl, was published as ''Bancroft's Introduction to Biostatistics'' in 1971.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bancroft, Huldah Year of birth missing 1966 deaths American women statisticians University of Michigan alumni Columbia University alumni Case Western Reserve University alumni Case Western Reserve University faculty Tulane University faculty