Cox, Gertrude Mary (1900–1978)

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Cox, Gertrude Mary (1900–1978)

American statistician. Name variations: Gertrude Cox. Born Jan 13, 1900, in Dayton, Iowa; died of leukemia, Oct 17, 1978; dau. of Emma Cox; Iowa State College, BS, 1929, MA, 1931; attended University of California at Berkeley, 1931–33.

Undertook graduate studies in psychological statistics at UC Berkeley, then returned to Iowa State College as assistant in Statistical Laboratory, helping develop college's statistical laboratory with George Snedecor (1933–40); appointed assistant professor of statistics at Iowa State (1939); as full professor and founding department head in experimental statistics, was at North Carolina State University (1940–65); was editor of Biometrics Bulletin and Biometrics (1945–55); was founding member of Biometrics Society (1947); was 1st woman elected to International Statistical Institute (1949); with William G. Cochran, published Experimental Designs, a classic text (1950); became president of American Statistical Association (1956); served as director of statistics at Research Triangle Institute in Durham (1960–64); elected to National Academy of Sciences (1975); consultant to World Health Organization in Guatemala, US Public Health Service, government of Thailand and Pan American Health Organization, as well as many government committees.

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