Pamela V.

Zingapan BSRT-2

History and Development of Statistics

• John Graunt (English, 1620–1674): Pioneer of demography who produced the first lifetable
• Thomas Bayes (English, 1702–1761): Developed the interpretation of probability now known as Bayes
theorem
• Pierre-Simon Laplace (French, 1749--1827): Co-invented Bayesian statistics. Invented exponential families
(Laplace transform), conjugate prior distributions, asymptotic analysis of estimators (including negligibility of
regular priors).
• William Playfair (Scottish, 1759–1823): Pioneer of statistical graphics
• Carl Friedrich Gauss (German, 1777–1855): Invented least squares estimation methods (with Legendre).
Used loss functions and maximum-likelihood estimation
• Adolphe Quetelet (Belgian, 1796–1874): Pioneered the use of probability and statistics in the social sciences
• Florence Nightingale (English, 1820–1910): Applied statistical analysis to health problems, contributing to
the establishment of epidemiology and public health practice. First female member of the Royal Statistical
Society.
• Francis Galton (English, 1822–1911): Invented the concepts of standard deviation, correlation, regression
• Thorvald N. Thiele (Danish, 1838-1910): Introduced cumulants and the term "likelihood". Introduced a
Kalman filter in time-series
• Charles S. Peirce (United States, 1839-1914): Formulated modern statistics in "Illustrations of the Logic of
Science" (1877--1878) and "A Theory of Probable Inference" (1883). With
a repeated measures design, introduced blinded, controlled randomized experiments (before Fisher).
Invented optimal design for experiments on gravity, in which he "corrected the means".
•Francis Ysidro Edgeworth (Ireland and England, 18451926): Revived exponential families in statistics. 
• Karl Pearson (English, 1857–1936): Numerous innovations, including the development of the Pearson chi-
squared test and the Pearson correlation. Founded the Biometrical Society and Biometrika, the first journal of
mathematical statistics and biometry
• Charles Spearman (English, 1863–1945): Extended the Pearson correlation coefficient to the Spearman's
rank correlation coefficient
• William Sealy Gosset (known as "Student") (English, 1876–1937): Discovered the Student distribution and
invented the Student's t-test
• Ronald A. Fisher (English, 1890–1962): Wrote the textbooks and articles that defined the
academic discipline of statistics, inspiring the creation of statistics departments at
universities throughout the world.

IMPORTANCE OF STATISTICS
Statistics is the science of collecting, organizing, and interpreting numerical facts, which we call data.
Data bombards us in everyday life. Most of us associate statistics with the bits of data that appear in news
reports: baseball batting averages, imported car sales, the latest poll of the president's popularity, and the
average high temperature for
today. Advertisements often claim that data show the superiority of the advertiser's product. All sides in
public debates about economics, education, and social policy argue from data. Yet the usefulness of statistics
goes far beyond these everyday examples.
The study and collection of data are important in the work of many professions, so that training in
the science of statistics is valuable preparation for a variety of careers. Each month, for example, government
statistical offices release the latest numerical information on unemployment and inflation. Economists and
financial advisors as well as policy makers in government and business study these data to make informed
decisions. Doctors must understand the origin and trustworthiness of the data that appear in medical
journals if they are to offer their patients the most effective treatment. Politicians rely on data from polls of
public opinion. Market research data that reveal consumer tastes influence business decisions. Farmers study
data from field trials of new crop varieties. Engineers gather data on the quality and reliability of
manufactured products.