KarlPearsonKarlPearson ialahpemain utamadipembangunan terdahulustatistiksebagaisatu disiplinsaintifikseriusdihaknya sendiri. DiamengasaskanDepartment of Applied Statistics (sekarangDepartment of Statistical Science)di LondonKolej Universiti dalam 1911; iajabatan perangkaanuniversiti pertamadi dunia.Jabatan-jabatansekarangofStatistical Science danSains Komputer, sertakumpulanGenetics and Biometry di Biology danaspek fizikalAnthropology ialahsemua bahagianwarisannya kepada UCL.

ButiranbiografiKarlPearsondilahirkan diLondonpada27hb Mac1857. Diadididiksecara sulitdi University College School,selepas itu diapergiCollegeCambridgeRajauntukbelajar matematik. Dia ketika itumenghabiskan sebahagian1879 dan 1880belajarabadkuno danke-16kesusasteraan Jermandi universitiBerlin dan Heidelberg - malah, diamenjadisufficentlyberilmudalam bidang iniyangdia telahditawarkan satu jawatandalamjabatanJermandiUniversiti Cambridge.Pergerakkankerjayaberikutnyadia ialahuntuk InnLincoln, di manadiabelajar undang-undangsehingga 1881 (walaupundia tidak pernahmengamalkan).Selepas ini, diakembali kepadamatematik,mewakili untukprofesor matematikdi King's CollegeLondondalam 1881 dan untukprofesordi LondonKolej Universitidalam 1883. Dalam 1884, diadilantik kepadaMatematikGoldshmid Chair of Applied dan Mechanicsdi LondonKolej Universiti. 1891melihatdiajuga melantikkepadajawatan profesorGeometry diGreshamCollege;di sinidiabertemuW.F.R.Weldon,seorang ahli zoologiyang mempunyai beberapamasalah menarikmemerlukan penyelesaiankuantitatif.Kerjasama, di biometri danteori evolusi, ialahsatuberhasilsuatudantahan sehinggaWeldonmeninggal dunia dalam1906.WeldonmemperkenalkanPearson kepadaFrancisGalton, yangmeminatiaspekevolusisepertiketurunandaneugenik, danini ialahsatu lagiperkongsiansangat bermanfaat, lebih banyak untukpembangunandistatistikiamembawa kepadadaripada untukeugenik, sebahagiannyaagak menyusahkanuntuksatupembacamodendenganpengetahuanpembangunanyang berikutnya.Galtonmeninggal dunia dalam1911 danmeninggalkan bakiestetdia kepadaUniversity of LondonuntuksatuChair di Eugenics. Pearson ialahpemegang pertamakerusiini,sejajardenganharapan-harapanGalton. DiamembentukDepartment of Applied Statistics, di manadiamenggabungkanmakmal-makmalBiometric andGalton. Dia tetap denganjabatanitu sehinggapersaraannya dalam 1933, danmeneruskanbekerja sehinggakematiannya dalam 1936.PearsonberkahwinMariaSharpe dalam 1890, danantara merekamerekamempunyai2anak perempuandanseorang anak.Anak lelaki,EgonSharpe Pearson,menggantikannya sebagaikepalaApplied Statistics Department di University College.Selaindaripada kehidupanprofesionalnya, Pearson ialahaktifsepertisatutidak bertuhanterkemukadansosialis. Diamemberikansyarahandiisuseperti itu sebagai"soalanwanita" (ini ialahera pergerakanpejuang hak undiandiUK) dan atasKarl Marx.Komitmennyakepada sosialismedanidealnyamemimpinnyaenggansatuOBE (OrderEmpayarBritish)apabila iatelah ditawarkandalam 1920, danjuga satuKnighthood dalam 1935.

Karl Pearson

Karl Pearson was a major player in the early development of statistics as a serious scientific discipline in its own right. He founded the Department of Applied Statistics (now the Department of Statistical Science) at University College London in 1911; it was the first university statistics department in the world. The present departments ofStatistical ScienceandComputer Science, as well as the Genetics and Biometry group inBiologyand the physical side ofAnthropologyare all part of his legacy to UCL.

Biographical details

Karl Pearson was born in London on the 27th March 1857. Hewas educated privately at University College School, after which he went to King's College Cambridge to study mathematics. He then spent part of 1879 and 1880 studying medieval and 16th century German literature at the universities of Berlin and Heidelberg - in fact, he became sufficently knowledgeable in this field that he was offered a post in the German department at Cambridge University.His next career move was to Lincoln's Inn, where he read law until 1881 (although he never practised). After this, he returned to mathematics, deputising for the mathematics professor at King's College London in 1881 and for the professor at University College London in 1883. In 1884, he was appointed to the Goldshmid Chair of Applied Mathematics and Mechanics at University College London. 1891 saw him also appointed to the professorship of Geometry at Gresham College; here he met W.F.R. Weldon, a zoologist who had some interesting problems requiring quantitative solutions. The collaboration, in biometry and evolutionary theory, was a fruitful one and lasted until Weldon died in 1906. Weldon introduced Pearson to Francis Galton, who was interested in aspects of evolution such as heredity and eugenics, and this was another very rewarding partnership, more for the developments in statistics it led to than for the eugenics, some of which is rather problematic for a modern reader with knowledge of subsequent developments.Galton died in 1911 and left the residue of his estate to the University of London for a Chair in Eugenics. Pearson was the first holder of this chair, in accordance with Galton's wishes. He formed the Department of Applied Statistics, into which he incorporated the Biometric andGaltonlaboratories. He remained with the department until his retirement in 1933, and continued to work until his death in 1936.Pearson married Maria Sharpe in 1890, and between them they had 2 daughters and a son. The son, Egon Sharpe Pearson, succeeded him as head of the Applied Statistics Department at University College.Aside from his professional life, Pearson was active as a prominent free thinker and socialist. He gave lectures on such issues as "the woman's question" (this was the era of the suffragette movement in the UK) and upon Karl Marx. His commitment to socialism and its ideals led him to refuse an OBE (Order of the British Empire) when it was offered in 1920, and also a Knighthood in 1935.nugerahdaribadan-badanprofesionalPearsonmencapaipengiktirafan meluasmerentasisatu lingkungandisiplindankeanggotaannya, dananugerahdari,pelbagai badanprofesionalmencerminkanini: 1896:melantikFellow Royal Society 1898:menganugerahkanDarwinMedal 1911:menganugerahkan ijazahkehormatLLD dari StAndrews University 1911:menganugerahkansatuDSc dariUniversity of London 1920:menawarkanOBE 1932:menganugerahkanpingatRudolfVirchow oleh Berliner Gesellschaft Anthropologische 1935:menawarkangelaran kesatriaDiajuga dilantikHonorary Fellow CollegeCambridgeRaja, Royal Society of Edinburgh,London Kolej Universitidan Royal Society of Medicine, dansatuMember Club Actuaries.Sumbangankepada statistikKerjaPearsontermasuk semuadipenggunaan luasdanpembangunanstatistik matematik, danmerangkumibidangbiologi,epidemiologi,antropometri,ubatdansejarah sosial. Dalam 1901, denganWeldondanGalton, diamengasaskanjurnalBiometrika yangobjekialahpembangunanteoristatistcal. Diamenyuntingjurnalinisehingga kematiannya. Diajuga mengasaskanjurnalAnnals of Eugenics (sekarangAnnals of Human Genetics) dalam 1925.Pearsonfikirmenguatkankebanyakan `classical'kaedah statistikyang mana dalamfaedah umumhari ini.Beberapa sumbanganbesardia:Regresi lineardankorelasiPearsonmembantu dalampembangunanteoriini.Satu daripadaset dataklasikdiamelibatkanregresiketinggian anaklelakiatas daripadabapamereka. Pearsonmembina satumodel3dimensiset dataini (yang kekaldipenjagaanStatistical Science Department)menjelaskanidea.Pekali korelasiPearsondinamakan sempenadia.PengelasanpengagihanPearsonmengusahakanmengklasifikasikantaburan kebarangkalianmembentuk dasaruntukbanyak teoristatistik moden;khususnya,keluargaeksponenpengagihanunderlyteoriGeneralized Linear Models.Tempat-tempatberguna lainPembacayangberminatboleh mencaripautan-pautanberikutpenggunaan: MacTutor HistoryMatematikdiarkibkan padaSt.Andrews Universitytermasukbiografiahli-ahli matematikdanahli-ahli statistik, sertamaklumat umumdisejarahmatematik. KarlPearsonJohnAldrich:satuGuide Readermengandungi banyakpautanbergunauntuksumberselanjutnyamaklumat.

Bacaan lanjutKebanyakan daripadamaklumat biografidi atasdiambil darisenaraiAkertasdankesepadananKarlPearson (1857-1936)memegangdi Manuscripts Room, University CollegeLondonLibrary,disusun olehM.Merrington, B.Blundell, S.Burrough, J.Golden and J.Hogarth danditerbitoleh Publications Office,London Kolej Universiti, 1983.Rujukan lanjutyangmana mungkinberguna: Eisenhart,Churchill:KamusBiography Saintifik, pp.447-73.New York, 1974. Filon, l.n.g. andYule, G.u.:NotisobituariRoyal Society ofLondon, Vol. ii, No.5, pp.73-110. Pearson, E.s.:KarlPearson:satu penghargaanbeberapa aspekhidup dankerjadia.CambridgeUniversity Press.JohnAldrichGuide Readermemberikansatubibliografiyang banyaklebih meluas.

Awards from professional bodiesPearson achieved widespread recognition across a range of disciplines and his membership of, and awards from, various professional bodies reflects this: 1896: elected Fellow of the Royal Society 1898: awarded the Darwin Medal 1911: awarded the honorary degree of LLD from St Andrews University 1911: awarded a DSc from University of London 1920: offered (and refused) the OBE 1932: awarded the Rudolf Virchow medal by the Berliner Anthropologische Gesellschaft 1935: offered (and refused) a knighthoodHe was also elected an Honorary Fellow of King's College Cambridge, the Royal Society of Edinburgh, University College London and the Royal Society of Medicine, and a Member of the Actuaries' Club.Contributions to statisticsPearson's work was all-embracing in the wide application and development of mathematical statistics, and encompassed the fields of biology, epidemiology, anthropometry, medicine and social history. In 1901, with Weldon and Galton, he founded the journalBiometrikawhose object was the development of statistcal theory. He edited this journal till his death. He also founded the journalAnnals of Eugenics(nowAnnals of Human Genetics) in 1925.Pearson's thinking underpins many of the `classical' statistical methods which are in common use today. Some of his main contributions are:Linear regression and correlationPearson was instrumental in the development of this theory. One of his classic data sets involves the regression of sons' height upon that of their fathers'. Pearson built a 3-dimensional model of this data set (which remains in the care of the Statistical Science Department) to illustrate the ideas. The Pearson correlation coefficient is named after him.Classification of distributionsPearson's work on classifying probability distributions forms the basis for a lot of modern statistical theory; in particular, the exponential family of distributions underly the theory of Generalized Linear Models.Other useful sitesThe interested reader may find the following links of use: TheMacTutor History of Mathematicsarchive at St. Andrews University includes biographies of mathematicians and statisticians (including Pearson), as well as general information on the history of mathematics. John Aldrich'sKarl Pearson: a Reader's Guidecontains many useful links to further sources of information.

Further readingMost of the biographical information above is taken fromA list of the papers and correspondence of Karl Pearson (1857-1936) held in the Manuscripts Room, University College London Library, compiled by M.Merrington, B.Blundell, S.Burrough, J.Golden and J.Hogarth and published by the Publications Office, University College London, 1983.Further references which may be of use are: Eisenhart, Churchill (1974):Dictionary of Scientific Biography, pp.447-73. New York, 1974. Filon, L.N.G. and Yule, G.U. (1936):Obituary Notices of the Royal Society of London, Vol. ii, No.5, pp.73-110. Pearson, E.S. (1938):Karl Pearson: an appreciation of some aspects of his life and work. Cambridge University Press.John Aldrich'sReader's Guideprovides a much more extensive bibliography.