Harold Thayer Davis (5 October 1892 - 14 November 1974) was a mathematician, statistician, and econometrician, known for the Davis distribution. Through his sister Marjorie, he also had a strong in...ver másHarold Thayer Davis (5 October 1892 - 14 November 1974) was a mathematician, statistician, and econometrician, known for the Davis distribution. Through his sister Marjorie, he also had a strong interest in and appreciation of Classical languages and Classical culture.
Born in Beatrice, Nebraska, he received his A.B. from Colorado College (1915), his M.A. from Harvard University (1919) and his PhD under Edward Burr Van Vleck from the University of Wisconsin in 1926.
He worked as a mathematics instructor at the University of Wisconsin from 1920-1923, and then as a mathematics professor at the Indiana University Bloomington from 1923-1937.
In 1937, he became a professor at Northwestern University in the mathematics department and was selected for the position of department chair in 1942.
Davis was the author of many articles in refereed journals and numerous books and monographs. He was an associate editor of Econometrica, Isis, and the Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society, and was elected a Fellow the Econometric Society.
He died in Bloomington, Indiana in 1974 aged 82.ver menos