Walter Francis Willcox
Encyclopedia
Walter Francis Willcox, Ph.D., LL.D. (March 22, 1861 – October 12, 1964) was an American
statistician. He was born in Reading, Massachusetts
to William Henry Willcox and Anne Holmes Goodenow. He was graduated from Phillips Academy
, Andover
, in 1880; Amherst College
in 1884 with an A.B. and in 1888 received and A.M. degree from Amherst College
. He received an LL.B degree (1887) and a Ph.D. (1891) from Columbia
. In 1906 he received an honorary LL.D. degree from Amherst College
.
He was a Cornell University
faculty member from 1891 to 1931 within the President White School of History and Political Science. He held the presidency of the American Statistical Association
in 1911-12 and of the American Economic Association
in 1915. As well as essays and magazine articles, he published The Divorce Problem, A Study in Statistics (1891; second edition, 1897), and Supplementary Analysis and Derivative Tables, twelfth census (1906).
Willcox initiated the first statistics
course at Cornell in 1892, one of the earliest university courses in statistics in the United States, and one among 16 universities with such courses in the 1890s. His research interest was in vital statistics. Emil Julius Gumbel
described his body of work, collected in Studies in American Demography, as "the type of old-fashioned writings which will continue to be of value notwithstanding all progress achieved in mathematical statistics."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
statistician. He was born in Reading, Massachusetts
Reading, Massachusetts
Reading is an affluent town situated in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, some north of central Boston. The population was 24,747 at the 2010 census.-Settlement and Independence:...
to William Henry Willcox and Anne Holmes Goodenow. He was graduated from Phillips Academy
Phillips Academy
Phillips Academy is a selective, co-educational independent boarding high school for boarding and day students in grades 9–12, along with a post-graduate year...
, Andover
Andover, Massachusetts
Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was incorporated in 1646 and as of the 2010 census, the population was 33,201...
, in 1880; Amherst College
Amherst College
Amherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...
in 1884 with an A.B. and in 1888 received and A.M. degree from Amherst College
Amherst College
Amherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...
. He received an LL.B degree (1887) and a Ph.D. (1891) from Columbia
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. In 1906 he received an honorary LL.D. degree from Amherst College
Amherst College
Amherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...
.
He was a Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
faculty member from 1891 to 1931 within the President White School of History and Political Science. He held the presidency of the American Statistical Association
American Statistical Association
The American Statistical Association , is the main professional US organization for statisticians and related professions. It was founded in Boston, Massachusetts on November 27, 1839, and is the second oldest, continuously operating professional society in the United States...
in 1911-12 and of the American Economic Association
American Economic Association
The American Economic Association, or AEA, is a learned society in the field of economics, headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. It publishes one of the most prestigious academic journals in economics: the American Economic Review...
in 1915. As well as essays and magazine articles, he published The Divorce Problem, A Study in Statistics (1891; second edition, 1897), and Supplementary Analysis and Derivative Tables, twelfth census (1906).
Willcox initiated the first 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....
course at Cornell in 1892, one of the earliest university courses in statistics in the United States, and one among 16 universities with such courses in the 1890s. His research interest was in vital statistics. Emil Julius Gumbel
Emil Julius Gumbel
Emil Julius Gumbel was a Jewish mathematician and political writer.Born in Munich, he graduated from the University of Munich shortly before the outbreak of the First World War...
described his body of work, collected in Studies in American Demography, as "the type of old-fashioned writings which will continue to be of value notwithstanding all progress achieved in mathematical statistics."
Publications
- Studies in American Demography, Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press (1940).
- International Migrations, Volume II: Interpretations (Editor), New York: National Bureau of Economic Research (1931).
- Walter Francis Willcox papers, #14-10-504. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library.