Robert Wedderburn (statistician)
Encyclopedia
Robert William Maclagan Wedderburn (1947–1975) was a Scottish
statistician who worked at the Rothamsted Experimental Station
. He was co-developer, with John Nelder
, of the generalized linear model
methodology,
and then expanded this subject to develop the idea of quasi-likelihood
.
Wedderburn was born in Edinburgh
, where he attended Fettes College
, then studied for a degree and a diploma in statistics at the University of Cambridge
. He died aged 28 of anaphylactic shock from an insect bite while on a canal holiday.
"His colleagues remember him as someone of engaging diffidence, who would nonetheless hold his own in argument when he was sure he was right (as he usually was)." — John Nelder
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
statistician who worked at the Rothamsted Experimental Station
Rothamsted Experimental Station
The Rothamsted Experimental Station, one of the oldest agricultural research institutions in the world, is located at Harpenden in Hertfordshire, England. It is now known as Rothamsted Research...
. He was co-developer, with John Nelder
John Nelder
John Ashworth Nelder FRS was a British statistician known for his contributions to experimental design, analysis of variance, computational statistics, and statistical theory.-Contributions:...
, of the generalized linear model
Generalized linear model
In statistics, the generalized linear model is a flexible generalization of ordinary linear regression. The GLM generalizes linear regression by allowing the linear model to be related to the response variable via a link function and by allowing the magnitude of the variance of each measurement to...
methodology,
and then expanded this subject to develop the idea of quasi-likelihood
Quasi-likelihood
In statistics, quasi-likelihood estimation is one way of allowing for overdispersion, that is, greater variability in the data than would be expected from the statistical model used. It is most often used with models for count data or grouped binary data, i.e...
.
Wedderburn was born in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, where he attended Fettes College
Fettes College
Fettes College is an independent school for boarding and day pupils in Edinburgh, Scotland with over two thirds of its pupils in residence on campus...
, then studied for a degree and a diploma in statistics at 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...
. He died aged 28 of anaphylactic shock from an insect bite while on a canal holiday.
"His colleagues remember him as someone of engaging diffidence, who would nonetheless hold his own in argument when he was sure he was right (as he usually was)." — John Nelder
John Nelder
John Ashworth Nelder FRS was a British statistician known for his contributions to experimental design, analysis of variance, computational statistics, and statistical theory.-Contributions:...