E. J. G. Pitman
Encyclopedia
Edwin James George Pitman (29 October 1897 – 21 July 1993) was an Australian mathematician
who made a significant contribution to statistics
and probability theory
. In particular, he is remembered primarily as the originator of the Pitman permutation test, Pitman nearness and Pitman efficiency.
Pitman was born in Melbourne in 29 October 1897, and attended University of Melbourne
, residing at Ormond College, where he graduated with First Class Honours. In 1926 he was appointed Professor
of Mathematics
at the University of Tasmania
, which he held until his retirement in 1962.
He was a founding member and second President of the Australian Mathematical Society
. He was also active within the Statistical Society of Australia, which in 1978 named the Pitman medal in his honour.
His work the Pitman measure of closeness or Pitman nearness concerning the exponential families
of probability distribution
s has been studied extensively since 1980s by the leading statisticians such as C. R. Rao
, Ravindra Khattree
and others.
The Pitman–Koopman–Darmois theorem states that only exponential families of probability distributions admit a sufficient statistic whose dimension remains bounded as the sample size grows.
However, neither of these terms caught on.
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
who made a significant contribution to statistics
Statistics
Statistics is the study of the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of data. It deals with all aspects of this, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments....
and probability theory
Probability theory
Probability theory is the branch of mathematics concerned with analysis of random phenomena. The central objects of probability theory are random variables, stochastic processes, and events: mathematical abstractions of non-deterministic events or measured quantities that may either be single...
. In particular, he is remembered primarily as the originator of the Pitman permutation test, Pitman nearness and Pitman efficiency.
Pitman was born in Melbourne in 29 October 1897, and attended University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
, residing at Ormond College, where he graduated with First Class Honours. In 1926 he was appointed Professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
at the University of Tasmania
University of Tasmania
The University of Tasmania is a medium-sized public Australian university based in Tasmania, Australia. Officially founded on 1 January 1890, it was the fourth university to be established in nineteenth-century Australia...
, which he held until his retirement in 1962.
He was a founding member and second President of the Australian Mathematical Society
Australian Mathematical Society
The Australian Mathematical Society was founded in 1956 and is the national society of the mathematics profession in Australia. One of the Society's listed purposes is to promote the cause of mathematics in the community by representing the interests of the profession to government. The Society...
. He was also active within the Statistical Society of Australia, which in 1978 named the Pitman medal in his honour.
His work the Pitman measure of closeness or Pitman nearness concerning the exponential families
Exponential family
In probability and statistics, an exponential family is an important class of probability distributions sharing a certain form, specified below. This special form is chosen for mathematical convenience, on account of some useful algebraic properties, as well as for generality, as exponential...
of probability distribution
Probability distribution
In probability theory, a probability mass, probability density, or probability distribution is a function that describes the probability of a random variable taking certain values....
s has been studied extensively since 1980s by the leading statisticians such as C. R. Rao
C. R. Rao
Calyampudi Radhakrishna Rao FRS known as C R Rao is an Indian statistician. He is currently professor emeritus at Penn State University and Research Professor at the University at Buffalo. Rao has been honored by numerous colloquia, honorary degrees, and festschrifts and was awarded the US...
, Ravindra Khattree
Ravindra Khattree
Ravindra Khattree is an Indian born statistician and professor of statistics at Oakland University. His contribution to the Fountain-Khattree-Peddada Theorem in Pitman measure of closeness is one of the important results of his work. Khattree is the coauthor of two books and has coedited two...
and others.
The Pitman–Koopman–Darmois theorem states that only exponential families of probability distributions admit a sufficient statistic whose dimension remains bounded as the sample size grows.
Terminology
- For "the sum of squaresSum of squaresThe partition of sums of squares is a concept that permeates much of inferential statistics and descriptive statistics. More properly, it is the partitioning of sums of squared deviations or errors. Mathematically, the sum of squared deviations is an unscaled, or unadjusted measure of dispersion...
of deviations from the mean," he coined the term squariance. - For "the logarithm of the likelihood" he coined the term loglihood.
However, neither of these terms caught on.
Pitman's published work (selected)
- Sufficient statistics and intrinsic accuracy, Proc. Camb. Phil. Soc. 32, (1936), 567–579.
- Significance tests which may be applied to samples from any populations. Suppl.J .R. Statist. Soc. 4, (1937), 119–130.
- Significance tests which may be applied to samples from any populations. II. The correlation coefficient test. Suppl. J. R. Statist. Soc. 4, (1937), 225–232.
- Significance tests which may be applied to samples from any populations. III. The analysis of variance test. Biometrika 29, (1938), 322–335.
- The estimation of the location and scale parameters of a continuous population of any given form, Biometrika 30, (1939) 391–421.
- Tests of hypotheses concerning location and scale parameters. Biometrika 31, (1939) 200–215.
- Statistics and science. J. Amer. Statist. Assoc. 25, (1957), 322–330.
- Some remarks on statistical inference. Proc. Int. Res. Seminar, Berkeley (Bernoulli–Bayes–Laplace Anniversary Volume), (1965), 209–216. New York: Springer-Verlag.
Autobiography
Pitman contributed a chapter, "Reminiscences of a mathematician who strayed into statistics", to the volume- Joseph M. Gani (ed.) (1982) The Making of Statisticians, New York: Springer-Verlag. ISBN 0-387-90684-3