William Gemmell Cochran (15 July 1909 – 29 March 1980) was a prominent

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 ...

. He was born in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

but spent most of his life in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Cochran studied

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

and the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. He worked at

Rothamsted Experimental Station Rothamsted Research, previously known as the Rothamsted Experimental Station and then the Institute of Arable Crops Research, is one of the oldest agricultural research institutions in the world, having been founded in 1843. It is located at Harp ...

from 1934 to 1939, when he moved to the United States. There he helped establish several departments of statistics. His longest spell in any one university was at

Harvard 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 ...

, which he joined in 1957 and from which he retired in 1976.

Writings

Cochran wrote many articles and books. His books became standard texts: * ''Experimental Designs'' (with

Gertrude Mary Cox 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 Statist ...

) 1950 * * ''Statistical Methods Applied to Experiments in Agriculture and Biology'' by

George W. Snedecor George Waddel Snedecor (October 20, 1881 – February 15, 1974) was an American mathematician and statistician. He contributed to the foundations of analysis of variance, data analysis, experimental design, and statistical methodology. Snedecor ...

(Cochran contributed from the fifth (1956) edition) * ''Planning and Analysis of Observational Studies'' (edited by Lincoln E. Moses and

Frederick Mosteller Charles Frederick Mosteller (December 24, 1916 – July 23, 2006) was an American mathematician, considered one of the most eminent statisticians of the 20th century. He was the founding chairman of Harvard's statistics department from 19 ...

) 1983.

References

External links

Brief biography

ASA biography

Morris Hansen and Frederick Mosteller (1987) William Gemmell Cochran NAS Biographical Memoirs V.56
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Morris Hansen and Frederick Mosteller, "William Gemmell Cochran", Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences (1987) "Designing Clinical Trials"
(1961; ''Evaluation of Drug Therapy'') 1909 births 1980 deaths American statisticians British statisticians Harvard University faculty 20th-century British mathematicians Presidents of the American Statistical Association Presidents of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics Presidents of the International Statistical Institute Rothamsted statisticians Fellows of the American Statistical Association Survey methodologists People from Rutherglen Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Alumni of the University of Glasgow Alumni of the University of Cambridge {{US-statistician-stub