Robin L. Plackett (3 September 1920 – 23 June 2009) was a

statistician A statistician is a person who works with theoretical or applied statistics. The profession exists in both the private and public sectors. It is common to combine statistical knowledge with expertise in other subjects, and statisticians may wor ...

best known for his contributions to the

history of statistics Statistics, in the modern sense of the word, began evolving in the 18th century in response to the novel needs of industrializing sovereign states. In early times, the meaning was restricted to information about states, particularly demographics ...

and to

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 ...

, most notably the

Plackett–Burman design Plackett–Burman designs are experimental designs presented in 1946 by Robin L. Plackett and J. P. Burman while working in the British Ministry of Supply. Their goal was to find experimental designs for investigating the dependence of some measu ...

Early life and education

Plackett attended

Liverpool Collegiate School Liverpool Collegiate School was an all-boys grammar school, later a comprehensive school, in the Everton area of Liverpool. Foundations The Collegiate is a striking, Grade II listed building, with a facade of pink Woolton sandstone, designed ...

from 1932 to 1939. He then attended

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 refounded ...

, where he graduated in 1942.

Early career

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Plackett was requested to work for the

Ministry of Supply The Ministry of Supply (MoS) was a department of the UK government formed in 1939 to co-ordinate the supply of equipment to all three British armed forces, headed by the Minister of Supply. A separate ministry, however, was responsible for aircr ...

, in SR17 which was a statistical branch. He began to develop a methodology for applying statistical knowledge, and would pass it down to new recruits.

First scientific paper

In 1946, he would publish his first paper which was written jointly with Peter Burman in an journal called ''

Biometrika ''Biometrika'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Oxford University Press for thBiometrika Trust The editor-in-chief is Paul Fearnhead (Lancaster University). The principal focus of this journal is theoretical statistics. It was es ...

''. The paper, titled "The design of optimum multifactorial experiments", introduced Plackett–Burman experimental designs.

Academic career

In 1947, he became a lecturer at Liverpool University. He would also publish research on the history of statistics. Then, in 1962, he took a short post for the Professor of Statistics at

King's College, Durham The Colleges of Durham University are residential colleges that are the primary source of accommodation and support services for undergraduates and postgraduates at Durham University, as well as providing a focus for social, cultural and sporting ...

before the college merged with

Newcastle University Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a UK public university, public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is ...

in 1963. He was the first professor of statistics at Newcastle University and held the post until his retirement in 1983. In 1987 the

Royal Statistical Society The Royal Statistical Society (RSS) is an established statistical society. It has three main roles: a British learned society for statistics, a professional body for statisticians and a charity which promotes statistics for the public good. ...

awarded him the

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, having awarded him both the bronze and silver medals earlier in his career. He authored several books on statistics, including '' Principles of Regression Analysis '' (1960), ''The Analysis of Categorical Data'' (1974) and '' An Introduction to the Interpretation of Quantal Responses in Biology'' (1979, with P. S. Hewlett).

Personal life

Plackett was said to have had a keen interest in climbing. He met his wife, Carol whom they have been married for 65 years. He also had three children: Adam,

Jane Jane may refer to: * Jane (given name), a feminine given name * Jane (surname), related to the given name Film and television * ''Jane'' (1915 film), a silent comedy film directed by Frank Lloyd * ''Jane'' (2016 film), a South Korean drama fil ...

and Martin.

Early life and education

Early career

First scientific paper

Academic career

Personal life

References

Further reading