Peter Armitage
Encyclopedia
Peter Armitage is a statistician
specialising in medical statistics
.
Peter Armitage attended Huddersfield College
and went on to read mathematics at Trinity College, Cambridge
. Armitage belonged to the generation of mathematicians who came to maturity in the Second World War. He joined the weapons procurement agency, the Ministry of Supply where he worked on statistical problems with George Barnard
.
After the war he resumed his studies and then worked as a statistician for the Medical Research Council
from 1947-61. From 1961-76 he was Professor of Medical Statistics at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine where he succeeded Austin Bradford Hill
. He moved to Oxford as Professor of Biomathematics and became Professor of Applied Statistics and head of the new Department of Statistics, retiring in 1990. He was president of the Royal Statistical Society
in 1982-4. He was president of the International Society for Clinical Biostatistics in 1990-1991. He is editor-in-chief of the Encyclopedia of Biostatistics. He lives in Wallingford, Oxfordshire.
There are recollections in
There is a photograph at
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...
specialising in medical statistics
Medical statistics
Medical statistics deals with applications of statistics to medicine and the health sciences, including epidemiology, public health, forensic medicine, and clinical research...
.
Peter Armitage attended Huddersfield College
Huddersfield New College
Huddersfield New College is a former grammar school and current sixth form college located in Salendine Nook on the outskirts of Huddersfield, in the English county of West Yorkshire. The current Principal is Angela Williams.-Admissions:...
and went on to read mathematics at Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
. Armitage belonged to the generation of mathematicians who came to maturity in the Second World War. He joined the weapons procurement agency, the Ministry of Supply where he worked on statistical problems with George Barnard
George Alfred Barnard
George Alfred Barnard was a British statistician known particularly for his work on the foundations of statistics and on quality control.-Biography:...
.
After the war he resumed his studies and then worked as a statistician 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...
from 1947-61. From 1961-76 he was Professor of Medical Statistics at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine where he succeeded Austin Bradford Hill
Austin Bradford Hill
Sir Austin Bradford Hill FRS , English epidemiologist and statistician, pioneered the randomized clinical trial and, together with Richard Doll, was the first to demonstrate the connection between cigarette smoking and lung cancer...
. He moved to Oxford as Professor of Biomathematics and became Professor of Applied Statistics and head of the new Department of Statistics, retiring in 1990. He was president 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 1982-4. He was president of the International Society for Clinical Biostatistics in 1990-1991. He is editor-in-chief of the Encyclopedia of Biostatistics. He lives in Wallingford, Oxfordshire.
Biography
Basic career information is in the entry in- Who's Who 2005
There are recollections in
- Peter Armitage "Purposes, methods, philosophies," Significance Volume 1 Issue 4 Page 170 - December 2004
External links
There is a photograph at
- Peter Armitage on the Portraits of Statisticians page.
