Joseph Adna Hill
Encyclopedia
Joseph Adna Hill was an American
statistician
, born at Stewartstown, New Hampshire
; he graduated from Harvard University
in 1885 and from the University of Halle (Ph.D.) in 1892. He published The English Income Tax with Special Reference to Administration and Method of Assessment (1899).
In 1898 he took on statistical work for the United States Census Bureau
, of which he became chief statistician in 1909. In this connection he had charge of census
reports on child labor
, illiteracy, marriage
and divorce
, women at work, and a report for the Immigration Commission on occupations of immigrants. He was the author of many census reports on child labor, the insane, divorce, and kindred subjects. He was appointed Assistant Director of the Census in 1921.
Although revised by Edward Vermilye Huntington
, Hill is credited with the conception of the Method of Equal Proportions or Huntington-Hill method
of apportionment of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives to the states, as a function of their populations determined in the U.S. censushttp://www.ams.org/featurecolumn/archive/apportion2.html. This mathematical algorithm has been used in the U.S. since 1941 and is currently the method used.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
statistician
Statistician
A statistician is someone who works with theoretical or applied statistics. The profession exists in both the private and public sectors. The core of that work is to measure, interpret, and describe the world and human activity patterns within it...
, born at Stewartstown, New Hampshire
Stewartstown, New Hampshire
Stewartstown is a town in Coos County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,004 at the 2010 census. It includes the village of West Stewartstown and is part of the Berlin, NH–VT Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
; he graduated from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1885 and from the University of Halle (Ph.D.) in 1892. He published The English Income Tax with Special Reference to Administration and Method of Assessment (1899).
In 1898 he took on statistical work for the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, of which he became chief statistician in 1909. In this connection he had charge of census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
reports on child labor
Child labor
Child labour refers to the employment of children at regular and sustained labour. This practice is considered exploitative by many international organizations and is illegal in many countries...
, illiteracy, marriage
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
and divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
, women at work, and a report for the Immigration Commission on occupations of immigrants. He was the author of many census reports on child labor, the insane, divorce, and kindred subjects. He was appointed Assistant Director of the Census in 1921.
Although revised by Edward Vermilye Huntington
Edward Vermilye Huntington
Edward Vermilye Huntington was an American mathematician....
, Hill is credited with the conception of the Method of Equal Proportions or Huntington-Hill method
Huntington-Hill method
The Huntington–Hill method of apportionment assigns seats by finding a modified divisor D such that each constituency's priority quotient , using the geometric mean of the lower and upper quota for the divisor, yields the correct number of seats that minimizes the percentage differences in the size...
of apportionment of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives to the states, as a function of their populations determined in the U.S. censushttp://www.ams.org/featurecolumn/archive/apportion2.html. This mathematical algorithm has been used in the U.S. since 1941 and is currently the method used.