George Box photo

George Box: Statistics for Everyone


His Ideas
As a chemist trying to develop defenses against chemical weapons in wartime England, Box needed to analyze data from experiments. He sought statistical advice, but none was available, so he taught himself from the available texts. Perhaps because he had to teach himself statistics, George Box became one of the leading communicators of statistical theory to the rest of us. His Statistics for Experimenters, co-authored with Stuart and William Hunter is one of the most highly recommended texts for the field of experimental statistics. Box also wrote Time Series Analysis: Forecasting and Control, which is a practical, readable guide to dealing with time series data.

Biography
George E.P. Box was born and raised in England. He served as a chemist in the British Army Engineers during WWII, and after the war went on to receive his degree in mathematics and statistics from University College. During his tenure with ICI Ltd., Britain's chemical giant in the 1950's, he began working as a visiting professor in the US at the Institute of Statistics at the University of North Carolina. In 1960 he moved to Wisconsin, where he served as the first chairman of the Statistics Department. He received the British Empire Medal in 1946, and the Shewhart Medal in 1968.
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