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Florence N. David
1909-1993 |
by Megan Kruse Public Affairs Coordinator, ASA
Foreword by
Nan Laird
As a graduate student in Statistics at Harvard in
the early 1970s, I was always on the lookout for a female role
model. They were almost impossible to find. While F. N. David was
a very familiar name from academic publications, it was hard to
know she was a woman; I do not recall ever seeing "Florence
Nightingale" David in print. I learned what F. N. stood for from
Fred Mosteller, who was fond of revising childhood notions about
nurses by referring to the original Florence Nightingale as the
Mother of Statistics. Years later I was complaining to former
fellow graduate student, Persi Diaconis, about the Statistical
Science series on "A Conversation with So-and-So," where So-and-So
was always a male statistician. "Well, write one yourself," was
Persi's reply, "and of course they will publish it." It was
natural to pick F. N. David, and since Persi knew well some of her
friends, he set up an introduction.
I think F. N. liked to think of herself as feisty,
unconventional, and outspoken. Certainly this is how she
characterized herself and how she came across in the interview.
She struck me as also very compassionate, but uncompromising. Her
guiding principles were hard work, learning, and research driven
by the desire to understand and elucidate, and follow her own mind
and heart. As a revered teacher, colleague, and department chair
she was clearly very successful at what she did.
It was a great honor for me to receive the first F.
N. David Award from the Committee of Presidents of Statistical
Societies (COPSS) in 2001. I have always been very happy with my
choice of profession. Like F. N., I have been fortunate to have
wonderful teachers, colleagues, and students. She was an
outstanding role model for women in statistics and I am pleased
that our profession has named a prize in her honor.
F. N. David, named after her parents' friend Florence
Nightingale, was born August 23, 1909, in Ivington, England. Her
major areas of interest were combinatorics, symmetric functions,
distribution of the correlation coefficient, and the history of
probability.
She was educated as a child by the local parson, her formal
schooling interrupted by World War I, then transferred to regular
school at the age of 10. She wanted to attend University College,
London, but at the urging of her mother, she attended Bedford
College for Women instead. She graduated in 1931 with a degree in
mathematics.
Upon her graduation, David attempted to secure a position as an
actuary, but firms in London would only accept men. At the
suggestion of a friend, she went to see Karl Pearson at University
College. Pearson gave her a chance, arranging a scholarship for
her to continue her studies as his research assistant.
During her time with Pearson, she became an assistant lecturer
in the Statistics Department at University College. She also
worked closely with Jerzy Neyman and Egon Pearson, Karl Pearson's
son, launching a new statistical journal called Statistical
Research Memoirs, in which she published several papers. She left
University College in 1933, but returned to the lab to work with
Jerzy Neyman a few months before Karl Pearson died. Neyman was
surprised that David did not have her doctorate degree, so he
encouraged her to move forward with her education. She submitted
her last four published papers as a dissertation and was awarded a
PhD in 1938. That same year, David published her first book,
"Tables of the Correlation Coefficient," which came of her work
for Pearson computing the solutions of difficult multiple
integrals and calculating the distribution of the correlation
coefficient.
David worked throughout World War II in the statistical
sciences. She was an experimental officer for the Ordinance Board
at the Ministry of Supply and a senior statistician for the
Research and Experiments Department at the Ministry of Home
Security. She was also a member of the Land Mines Committee at the
Scientific Advisory Council and a scientific advisor on mines for
the Military Experimental Establishment. Her statistical models
helped anticipate the effects of bombs on population centers like
London-the number of casualties, the effects of bombs on
electricity, water, and sewage systems, and other potential
problems.
From 1945-1962, David was a lecturer and reader in the
Statistics Department at University College, and was promoted to
professor in 1962. From 1958-1967, she also held positions as
visiting professor and research statistician in the Department of
Statistics and Applied Climatology and Forestry Division at the
University of California, Berkeley. She later replaced Jerzy
Neyman as chair of the department.
David joined the ASA in 1945 while still at University College.
She became a Fellow of the Association in 1954. Her citation
read:
Florence N. David, Reader in Statistics, University College,
University of London, author of many substantial papers on the
mathematical theory of statistics; lucid writer for the
non-mathematician; teacher whose students are influential in
many lands; scientific adviser to the Beach Clearance Committee
after the war; research worker during the war doing crucial
experimentation, field work and statistical analysis relative to
home security and land mines.
In 1967, David relocated to the United States full time and
took a position at the University of California, Riverside, in the
Department of Biostatistics. In 1970, she became a professor and
the first chair of the newly formed Department of Statistics. She
retired from Riverside in 1977 and became professor emeritus and
research associate in biostatistics at the University of
California, Berkeley.
David authored nine books between 1938 and 1968, and wrote or
co-wrote more than 100 papers in scientific journals such as
Biometrika, Statistical Research Memoirs, and the Journal of the
American Statistical Association.
David received the first Elizabeth L. Scott award in 1992 for
her "efforts in opening the door to women in statistics; for
contributions to the profession over many years; for contributions
to education, science, and public service; for research
contributions to combinatorics, statistical methods, applications
and understanding history; and her spirit as a lecturer and as a
role model." The Committee of Presidents of Statistical Societies
(COPSS) established the Elizabeth L. Scott Award to honor an
individual who has helped foster opportunities for women in
statistics.
In 2001, COPSS and the Caucus for Women in Statistics
established the F. N. David Award. The award is granted to a
female statistician who serves as a role model to other women
through her contributions to the profession through excellence in
research, leadership of multidisciplinary collaborative groups,
statistics education, or service to the professional societies.
The biannual award consists of a plaque and cash award.
David died on July 23, 1993, leaving behind a legacy of
academic achievement and an open door for women in statistics.
Related Links
http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/David.html
