System Mechanic - Clean, repair, protect, and speed up your PC!Pioneering statistician John Tukey dies
Princeton professor credited with the terms 'bit' and 'software'
Friday, July 28, 2000
John Wilder Tukey, an emeritus Princeton professor considered to be one of the most important contributors to modern statistics, died Tuesday. He was 85.
Dr. Tukey developed many of the important tools of modern statistics and introduced concepts central to the creation of today's telecommunications technologies. He was known for his penchant for coining terms that reflected new ideas and techniques in the sciences and is credited with introducing the computer science terms "bit" and "software."
He earned a doctorate from Princeton in just two years and rose to the rank of full professor in 1950 at the age of 35. He helped found the university's Department of Statistics in 1966 and chaired the department until 1970.
"He probably made more original contributions to statistics than anyone else since World War II," said Frederick Mosteller, retired professor of mathematical statistics at Harvard University.
In addition to his research achievements, Dr. Tukey was known for his interests in folk dancing and collecting murder-mystery and science fiction books.
Husband of the late Elizabeth Rapp Tukey, who died in 1998, he is survived by cousins, nephews, a sister-in-law and brother-in-law.
The funeral will be held 1 p.m. Monday at Trinity Church, 33 Mercer St., Princeton. A memorial service will be held in the fall.
