M. S. Bartlett
Encyclopedia
Maurice Stevenson Bartlett FRS (18 June 1910 – 8 January 2002) was an English
statistician
who made particular contributions to the analysis of data
with spatial
and temporal
patterns. He is also known for his work in the theory of statistical inference
and in multivariate analysis
.
, London
, Bartlett was raised in a poor family but won a scholarship to Latymer Upper School
where he was inspired to the study of statistics
by a chapter in Hall and Knight's Algebra. In 1929, he won a scholarship to Queens' College, Cambridge
where he read mathematics
, graduating with the rank of wrangler. He attended lectures on statistics by John Wishart
, on relativity
by Arthur Eddington and on quantum mechanics
by Paul Dirac
. In one of his lectures Wishart described his geometric derivation of the Wishart distribution. Overnight Bartlett worked out a proof using characteristic functions. Bartlett was Wishart's first post-graduate student and they wrote two papers together. This was the beginning of Bartlett's involvement with multivariate analysis. During his Queens years, he rowed
for the college.
In 1933, Bartlett was recruited by Egon Pearson
to the new statistics department at University College, London. Pearson was already working with Jerzy Neyman
. Also in the college were Ronald A. Fisher and J. B. S. Haldane
. Bartlett was stimulated by all of them, most of all by the work of Fisher, criticising some of it (for example, fiducial inference
) while developing other parts (for example conditional inference). Relations between the two men fluctuated; sometimes Bartlett was in Fisher's good books, but often not. In 1934, Bartlett became statistician at the ICI
agricultural research station at Jealott's Hill. Not only did he deal with practical problems but he worked on statistical theory, as well as on problems in genetics
but he became interested in the characterisation of intelligence. He remembered Jealott's Hill as the best working environment of his career. Bartlett left ICI for the University of Cambridge
in 1938 but at the outset of World War II
was mobilised into the Ministry of Supply, conducting rocket
research alongside Frank Anscombe, David Kendall
and Pat Moran
.
After the war Bartlett's renewed Cambridge work focused on time-series analysis and stochastic process
. With Jo Moyal
he planned a large book on probability, but the collaboration did not work out and Bartlett went ahead and published his own book on stochastic processes. He made a number of visits to the USA. In 1947 he became professor of mathematical statistics at the University of Manchester
where he not only developed his interests in epidemiology
but also served as an able and active administrator. In 1960, he took up the chair of statistics at University College, London before serving the last eight years of his academic life as professor of biomathematics at the University of Oxford
. He retired in 1975.
After his retirement Bartlett remained active in statistics, visiting the Institute of Advanced Studies at the Australian National University
several times. He had married Sheila, daughter of C. E. Chapman, in 1957, the couple parenting a daughter. Bartlett died in Exmouth
, Devon
.
Bartlett is known for Bartlett's method for estimating power spectra and Bartlett's test
for homoscedasticity
.
Several statisticians, including Bartlett, give their life stories.
For Bartlett's correspondence with Fisher see
There are photographs at
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
statistician
Statistician
A statistician is someone who works with theoretical or applied statistics. The profession exists in both the private and public sectors. The core of that work is to measure, interpret, and describe the world and human activity patterns within it...
who made particular contributions to the analysis of data
Data
The term data refers to qualitative or quantitative attributes of a variable or set of variables. Data are typically the results of measurements and can be the basis of graphs, images, or observations of a set of variables. Data are often viewed as the lowest level of abstraction from which...
with spatial
Space
Space is the boundless, three-dimensional extent in which objects and events occur and have relative position and direction. Physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless four-dimensional continuum...
and temporal
Time
Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....
patterns. He is also known for his work in the theory of statistical inference
Statistical inference
In statistics, statistical inference is the process of drawing conclusions from data that are subject to random variation, for example, observational errors or sampling variation...
and in multivariate analysis
Multivariate analysis
Multivariate analysis is based on the statistical principle of multivariate statistics, which involves observation and analysis of more than one statistical variable at a time...
.
Biography
Born ChiswickChiswick
Chiswick is a large suburb of west London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It is located on a meander of the River Thames, west of Charing Cross and is one of 35 major centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex, with...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Bartlett was raised in a poor family but won a scholarship to Latymer Upper School
Latymer Upper School
Latymer Upper School, founded by Edward Latymer in 1624, is a selective independent school in Hammersmith, West London, England, lying between King Street and the Thames. It is a day school for 1,130 pupils – boys and girls aged 11–18; there is also the Latymer Preparatory School for boys and girls...
where he was inspired to the study of statistics
Statistics
Statistics is the study of the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of data. It deals with all aspects of this, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments....
by a chapter in Hall and Knight's Algebra. In 1929, he won a scholarship to Queens' College, Cambridge
Queens' College, Cambridge
Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou , and refounded in 1465 by Elizabeth Woodville...
where he read mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, graduating with the rank of wrangler. He attended lectures on statistics by John Wishart
John Wishart (statistician)
John Wishart was a Scottish mathematician and agricultural statistician.He worked successively at University College London with Karl Pearson, at Rothamsted Experimental Station with Ronald Fisher, and then as a reader in statistics in the University of Cambridge where he became the first...
, on relativity
Theory of relativity
The theory of relativity, or simply relativity, encompasses two theories of Albert Einstein: special relativity and general relativity. However, the word relativity is sometimes used in reference to Galilean invariance....
by Arthur Eddington and on quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics, also known as quantum physics or quantum theory, is a branch of physics providing a mathematical description of much of the dual particle-like and wave-like behavior and interactions of energy and matter. It departs from classical mechanics primarily at the atomic and subatomic...
by Paul Dirac
Paul Dirac
Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac, OM, FRS was an English theoretical physicist who made fundamental contributions to the early development of both quantum mechanics and quantum electrodynamics...
. In one of his lectures Wishart described his geometric derivation of the Wishart distribution. Overnight Bartlett worked out a proof using characteristic functions. Bartlett was Wishart's first post-graduate student and they wrote two papers together. This was the beginning of Bartlett's involvement with multivariate analysis. During his Queens years, he rowed
Watercraft rowing
Watercraft rowing is the act of propelling a boat using the motion of oars in the water. The difference between paddling and rowing is that with rowing the oars have a mechanical connection with the boat whereas with paddling the paddles are hand-held with no mechanical connection.This article...
for the college.
In 1933, Bartlett was recruited by Egon Pearson
Egon Pearson
Egon Sharpe Pearson, CBE FRS was the only son of Karl Pearson, and like his father, a leading British statistician....
to the new statistics department at University College, London. Pearson was already working with Jerzy Neyman
Jerzy Neyman
Jerzy Neyman , born Jerzy Spława-Neyman, was a Polish American mathematician and statistician who spent most of his professional career at the University of California, Berkeley.-Life and career:...
. Also in the college were Ronald A. Fisher and J. B. S. Haldane
J. B. S. Haldane
John Burdon Sanderson Haldane FRS , known as Jack , was a British-born geneticist and evolutionary biologist. A staunch Marxist, he was critical of Britain's role in the Suez Crisis, and chose to leave Oxford and moved to India and became an Indian citizen...
. Bartlett was stimulated by all of them, most of all by the work of Fisher, criticising some of it (for example, fiducial inference
Fiducial inference
Fiducial inference is one of a number of different types of statistical inference. These are rules, intended for general application, by which conclusions can be drawn from samples of data. In modern statistical practice, attempts to work with fiducial inference have fallen out of fashion in...
) while developing other parts (for example conditional inference). Relations between the two men fluctuated; sometimes Bartlett was in Fisher's good books, but often not. In 1934, Bartlett became statistician at the ICI
Imperial Chemical Industries
Imperial Chemical Industries was a British chemical company, taken over by AkzoNobel, a Dutch conglomerate, one of the largest chemical producers in the world. In its heyday, ICI was the largest manufacturing company in the British Empire, and commonly regarded as a "bellwether of the British...
agricultural research station at Jealott's Hill. Not only did he deal with practical problems but he worked on statistical theory, as well as on problems in genetics
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
but he became interested in the characterisation of intelligence. He remembered Jealott's Hill as the best working environment of his career. Bartlett left ICI for the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
in 1938 but at the outset of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
was mobilised into the Ministry of Supply, conducting rocket
Rocket
A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction...
research alongside Frank Anscombe, David Kendall
David Kendall
David Evan Kendall is an American attorney who advised President Bill Clinton during the Lewinsky scandal and represented Clinton during the impeachment trial.-Background and Education:Kendall was born in 1944 and grew up in Sheridan, Indiana...
and Pat Moran
Patrick Alfred Pierce Moran
Patrick Alfred Pierce Moran FRS , commonly known as Pat Moran was an Australian statistician who made significant contributions to probability theory and its application to population and evolutionary genetics....
.
After the war Bartlett's renewed Cambridge work focused on time-series analysis and stochastic process
Stochastic process
In probability theory, a stochastic process , or sometimes random process, is the counterpart to a deterministic process...
. With Jo Moyal
José Enrique Moyal
José Enrique Moyal was a mathematical physicist who contributed to aeronautical engineering, electrical engineering and statistics, among other fields...
he planned a large book on probability, but the collaboration did not work out and Bartlett went ahead and published his own book on stochastic processes. He made a number of visits to the USA. In 1947 he became professor of mathematical statistics at the University of Manchester
School of Mathematics, University of Manchester
The School of Mathematics at the University of Manchester is one of the largest mathematics departments in the United Kingdom, with around 80 academic staff and an undergraduate intake of roughly 400 a year and another 200 postgraduate students...
where he not only developed his interests in epidemiology
Epidemiology
Epidemiology is the study of health-event, health-characteristic, or health-determinant patterns in a population. It is the cornerstone method of public health research, and helps inform policy decisions and evidence-based medicine by identifying risk factors for disease and targets for preventive...
but also served as an able and active administrator. In 1960, he took up the chair of statistics at University College, London before serving the last eight years of his academic life as professor of biomathematics at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
. He retired in 1975.
After his retirement Bartlett remained active in statistics, visiting the Institute of Advanced Studies at the Australian National University
Australian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
several times. He had married Sheila, daughter of C. E. Chapman, in 1957, the couple parenting a daughter. Bartlett died in Exmouth
Exmouth, Devon
Exmouth is a port town, civil parish and seaside resort in East Devon, England, sited on the east bank of the mouth of the River Exe. In 2001, it had a population of 32,972.-History:...
, Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
.
Bartlett is known for Bartlett's method for estimating power spectra and Bartlett's test
Bartlett's test
In statistics, Bartlett's test is used to test if k samples are from populations with equal variances. Equal variances across samples is called homoscedasticity or homogeneity of variances. Some statistical tests, for example the analysis of variance, assume that variances are equal across groups...
for homoscedasticity
Homoscedasticity
In statistics, a sequence or a vector of random variables is homoscedastic if all random variables in the sequence or vector have the same finite variance. This is also known as homogeneity of variance. The complementary notion is called heteroscedasticity...
.
Honours
- Rayleigh PrizeSmith's PrizeThe Smith's Prize was the name of each of two prizes awarded annually to two research students in theoretical Physics, mathematics and applied mathematics at the University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England.- History :...
, (1933); - Guy MedalGuy MedalThe Guy Medals are awarded by the Royal Statistical Society in three categories; Gold, Silver and Bronze. The Gold Medal is awarded triennially, the other two are awarded annually...
s in Silver (1952) and Gold (1969) of the Royal Statistical SocietyRoyal Statistical SocietyThe Royal Statistical Society is a learned society for statistics and a professional body for statisticians in the UK.-History:It was founded in 1834 as the Statistical Society of London , though a perhaps unrelated London Statistical Society was in existence at least as early as 1824...
; - President of the Manchester Statistical SocietyManchester Statistical SocietyManchester Statistical Society is a learned society founded 1833 in Manchester, England. It claims to be "the first organisation in Britain to study social problems systematically and to collect statistics for social purposes" and in 1834 to be "the first organisation to carry out a house-to-house...
, (1959–1960); - Fellow of the Royal SocietyRoyal SocietyThe Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
, (1961); - President of the Royal Statistical SocietyRoyal Statistical SocietyThe Royal Statistical Society is a learned society for statistics and a professional body for statisticians in the UK.-History:It was founded in 1834 as the Statistical Society of London , though a perhaps unrelated London Statistical Society was in existence at least as early as 1824...
(1966) - Honorary Member of the International Statistical InstituteInternational Statistical InstituteThe International Statistical Institute is a professional association of statisticians. The Institut International de Statistique or International Statistical Institute was founded in 1885 although there had been international congresses from 1853.. The Institute publishes a variety of books and...
, (1980); - Foreign Associate of the U.S.United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
National Academy of SciencesUnited States National Academy of SciencesThe National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
, (1993); - D.Sc.s from the University of ChicagoUniversity of ChicagoThe University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
(1966) and the University of HullUniversity of HullThe University of Hull, known informally as Hull University, is an English university, founded in 1927, located in Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire...
(1976).
Some papers
- (1933) with John WishartJohn Wishart (statistician)John Wishart was a Scottish mathematician and agricultural statistician.He worked successively at University College London with Karl Pearson, at Rothamsted Experimental Station with Ronald Fisher, and then as a reader in statistics in the University of Cambridge where he became the first...
, The distribution of second order moment statistics in a normal system. Proc. Camb. Phil. Soc. 28, 455–459. - (1933) On the theory of statistical regression. Proc. Royal Soc. Edinburgh, 53, 260–283.
- (1933) Probability and chance in the theory of statistics. Proc. Royal Soc. London Ser. A 141 518–534.
- (1934) The vector representation of a sample. Proc. Camb. Phil. Soc., 30, 327–340.
- (1936) Statistical information and properties of sufficiency. Proc. Royal Soc. London Ser., A 154, 124–137.
- (1937) Properties of sufficiency and statistical tests. Proc. Royal Soc. London Ser. A, 160, 268–282. (reprinted with an introduction by D. A. S. Fraser S. Kotz & N. L. Johnson (eds) Breakthroughs in Statistics, volume 1. Springer, New York. 1992.)
- (1938) Methods of estimating mental factors. Nature, 141, 609–610.
- (1939) A note on tests of significance in multivariate analysis, in Proceedings of the Cambridge Philosophical Society
- (1941) The statistical significance of canonical correlation. BiometrikaBiometrika- External links :* . The Internet Archive. 2011....
. - (1947) The use of transformations. BiometricsBiometricsBiometrics As Jain & Ross point out, "the term biometric authentication is perhaps more appropriate than biometrics since the latter has been historically used in the field of statistics to refer to the analysis of biological data [36]" . consists of methods...
. - (1948) Internal and external factor analysis. British Journal of PsychiatryBritish Journal of PsychiatryThe British Journal of Psychiatry is a peer-reviewed medical journal published monthly by the Royal College of Psychiatrists containing original research, systematic reviews, commentaries on contentious articles, short reports, a comprehensive book review section, and a correspondence column...
. - (1949) Fitting a straight line when both variables are subjects to error. BiometricsBiometricsBiometrics As Jain & Ross point out, "the term biometric authentication is perhaps more appropriate than biometrics since the latter has been historically used in the field of statistics to refer to the analysis of biological data [36]" . consists of methods...
. - (1949) The statistical significance of "dispersed hits" in card-guessing experiments. Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research, 48, 336–338.
- (1950) Tests of significance in multivariate analysis. British Journal of Mathematical and Statistical Psychology.
- (1950) Tests of significance in factor analysis. British Journal of Psychology, 3, 77–85.
Books
- An Introduction to Stochastic Processes, (1955) ISBN 0-521-04116-3
- Stochastic Population Models in Ecology and Epidemiology, (1960) ISBN 0-416-52330-7
- Essays in Probability and Statistics, (1962) ISBN 0-416-64880-0
- Probability, Statistics and Time, (1975) ISBN 0-412-14150-7
- The Statistical Analysis of Spatial Pattern, (1976) ISBN 0-412-14290-2
- Selected Papers of M. S. Bartlett 3 vols. edited by R.G. Stanton, E.D. Johnson, D.S. Meek. Winnipeg : Charles Babbage Research Centre (1989).
Autobiography
- Ingram OlkinIngram OlkinIngram Olkin is a professor emeritus and chair of statistics and education at Stanford University and the Stanford University School of Education...
(1989) A Conversation with Maurice Bartlett, Statistical Science, 4, 151–163.
- "Chance and Change" in J. Gani (ed) (1982) The Making of Statisticians, New York: Springer-Verlag.
Several statisticians, including Bartlett, give their life stories.
External links
- ISI Newsletter Note by D. R. Cox
- IMS Bulletin Obituary by Besag & Clifford p. 14
- Royal Society citation
For Bartlett's correspondence with Fisher see
- Statistical Inference and Analysis, Selected Correspondence of R.A. Fisher Edited by J.H. Bennett
- Correspondence of Sir R.A. Fisher: Calendar of Correspondence with M.S. Bartlett
There are photographs at
