Leon Isserlis
Encyclopedia
Leon Isserlis was a Russia
n-born British
statistician
known for his work on the exact
distribution
of sample
moment
s, including Isserlis’ theorem. He also brought to the attention of British
statisticians the work of Russian
mathematicians and statisticians, including Chebyshev and Chuprov
.
He was born in Bogoslav near Kiev
in June 1881 and was a direct descendant of the eminent rabbi
Moses Isserles
. He moved to Britain when he was ten years old with his widowed mother, an elder brother and two sisters. He attended the City of London School
and won an open scholarship
to study mathematics at Christ's College, Cambridge
. Upon leaving Cambridge in 1904 he was appointed head of mathematics at the West Ham Municipal Technical Institute (one of the forerunners of the University of East London
). He also registered as a research student at University College London
, where he studied under Karl Pearson
, and was awarded a D.Sc. in 1916. In March 1920 he moved to become statistician to the Chamber of Shipping and remained there until his retirement in 1942, when his position as statistician was taken by Maurice Kendall
.
In 1926 He wrote a review for the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society
of R. A. Fisher's seminal book Statistical Methods for Research Workers
. The review was rather critical, particularly of Fisher's lack of references to earlier work by others such as Chebyshev.
He was a friend of Major Greenwood
and worked with him on statistical issues for the Medical Research Council
, although most of this work was anonymous and unpublished. He was also chairman of the Jewish Health Organization from 1931 to 1939. He served as secretary of the Royal Statistical Society
in 1934–35 and again in 1944–45, and was awarded its Guy Medal
in Silver in 1939.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n-born British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
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...
known for his work on the exact
Exact statistics
Exact statistics, such as that described in exact test, is a branch of statistics that was developed to provide more accurate results pertaining to statistical testing and interval estimation by eliminating procedures based on asymptotic and approximate statistical methods...
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....
of sample
Sample (statistics)
In statistics, a sample is a subset of a population. Typically, the population is very large, making a census or a complete enumeration of all the values in the population impractical or impossible. The sample represents a subset of manageable size...
moment
Moment (mathematics)
In mathematics, a moment is, loosely speaking, a quantitative measure of the shape of a set of points. The "second moment", for example, is widely used and measures the "width" of a set of points in one dimension or in higher dimensions measures the shape of a cloud of points as it could be fit by...
s, including Isserlis’ theorem. He also brought to the attention of British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
statisticians the work of Russian
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
mathematicians and statisticians, including Chebyshev and Chuprov
Alexander Alexandrovich Chuprov
Alexander Alexandrovich Chuprov Russian statistician who worked on mathematical statistics, sample survey theory and demography....
.
He was born in Bogoslav near Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
in June 1881 and was a direct descendant of the eminent rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
Moses Isserles
Moses Isserles
Moses Isserles, also spelled Moshe Isserlis, , was an eminent Ashkenazic rabbi, talmudist, and posek, renowned for his fundamental work of Halakha , entitled ha-Mapah , an inline commentary on the Shulkhan Aruch...
. He moved to Britain when he was ten years old with his widowed mother, an elder brother and two sisters. He attended the City of London School
City of London School
The City of London School is a boys' independent day school on the banks of the River Thames in the City of London, England. It is the brother school of the City of London School for Girls and the co-educational City of London Freemen's School...
and won an open scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
to study mathematics at Christ's College, Cambridge
Christ's College, Cambridge
Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.With a reputation for high academic standards, Christ's College averaged top place in the Tompkins Table from 1980-2000 . In 2011, Christ's was placed sixth.-College history:...
. Upon leaving Cambridge in 1904 he was appointed head of mathematics at the West Ham Municipal Technical Institute (one of the forerunners of the University of East London
University of East London
The University of East London is a university located in the London Borough of Newham, East London, England, based at two campuses in Stratford and Docklands areas...
). He also registered as a research student at University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
, where he studied under Karl Pearson
Karl Pearson
Karl Pearson FRS was an influential English mathematician who has been credited for establishing the disciplineof mathematical statistics....
, and was awarded a D.Sc. in 1916. In March 1920 he moved to become statistician to the Chamber of Shipping and remained there until his retirement in 1942, when his position as statistician was taken by Maurice Kendall
Maurice Kendall
Sir Maurice George Kendall, FBA was a British statistician, widely known for his contribution to statistics. The Kendall tau rank correlation is named after him.-Education and early life:...
.
In 1926 He wrote a review for the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society
Journal of the Royal Statistical Society
The Journal of the Royal Statistical Society is a series of three peer-reviewed statistics journals published by Blackwell Publishing for the London-based Royal Statistical Society.- History :...
of R. A. Fisher's seminal book Statistical Methods for Research Workers
Statistical Methods for Research Workers
Statistical Methods for Research Workers is a classic 1925 book on statistics by the statistician R.A. Fisher. It is considered by some to be one of the 20th century's most influential books on statistical methods. According to ,...
. The review was rather critical, particularly of Fisher's lack of references to earlier work by others such as Chebyshev.
He was a friend of Major Greenwood
Major Greenwood
Major Greenwood FRS was an English epidemiologist and statistician.Major Greenwood junior was born in Shoreditch in London's East End, the only child of a doctor in general practice there...
and worked with him on statistical issues for the Medical Research Council
Medical Research Council (UK)
The Medical Research Council is a publicly-funded agency responsible for co-ordinating and funding medical research in the United Kingdom. It is one of seven Research Councils in the UK and is answerable to, although politically independent from, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills...
, although most of this work was anonymous and unpublished. He was also chairman of the Jewish Health Organization from 1931 to 1939. He served as secretary of the Royal Statistical Society
Royal Statistical Society
The Royal Statistical Society is a learned society for statistics and a professional body for statisticians in the UK.-History:It was founded in 1834 as the Statistical Society of London , though a perhaps unrelated London Statistical Society was in existence at least as early as 1824...
in 1934–35 and again in 1944–45, and was awarded its Guy Medal
Guy Medal
The Guy Medals are awarded by the Royal Statistical Society in three categories; Gold, Silver and Bronze. The Gold Medal is awarded triennially, the other two are awarded annually...
in Silver in 1939.