Stephen M. Stigler

Ernest DeWitt Burton Distinguished Service Professor Department of Statistics and the College. Member of the Committee on Conceptual and Historical Studies of Science

Stephen Stigler is one of the world’s foremost experts on the history of statistics, particularly the development of statistical methods in the natural and social sciences. In addition to numerous articles, he is the author of two books: The History of Statistics: The Measurement of Uncertainty Before 1900, and Statistics on the Table: The History of Statistical Concepts and Methods.  Among many honors, he  is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the Royal Statistical Society. He served as president of the International Statistical Institute from 2003 until 2005, and he was president of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics from 1994 to 1995. He has an honorary doctorate from Carleton College (2005).

Stigler is has been influential in shaping the research in multiple ways. His focus on history has provided a unique angle from which to view and comment on contemporary research, both in statistics and beyond. Among a number of high profile roles, he was Editor of the Journal of the American Statistical Association from 1979 to 1992. He has on multiple occasions served on the Board of Trustees of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, where he has also served as Chair. He is currently a Member of Board of Trustees of JSTOR.

Stigler received his Ph.D. in 1967 from the University of California, Berkeley. He taught at University of Wisconsin–Madison until 1979 when he joined the University of Chicago, where he has been Chair on several occasions. He is the son of the late George Stigler, a longtime University of Chicago faculty member who received the 1982 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.

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