| Authorised form of name | Daniels; Henry Ellis (1912 - 2000); mathematician |
| Dates | 1912 - 2000 |
| Nationality | British |
| Place of birth | London, England |
| Date of birth | 02/10/1912 |
| Place of death | Gregynog, Powys |
| Date of death | 16/04/2000 |
| Occupation | Mathematician |
| Research field | Statistical theory |
| Watch design |
| Activity | Education:
Sciennes School, Edinburgh; George Heriot's School, Edinburgh where he obtrained a scholarship to read mathematics at Edinburgh University; MA (1933, Edinburgh University);won a Major Mathematical Scholarship to Clare College, Cambridge, where he took a course in statistics with practical exercises provided by the School of Agriculture.
Career:
Appointed Statistician, Wool Industries Research Association (WIRA), Leeds (1935-1946) where he contributed a mathematical appendix to a key paper by his colleagues biochemist AJP Martin and RLM Synge who were working on the development of paper chromatography for which they were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 1952; seconded to Air Warfare Analysis Group, Ministry of Aircraft Production, to work on improvements in radiolocation (1942-1945) leading to a major paper on position finding in the Journal of the Royal Ststistical Society. he returned to Cambridge as Lecturer in Mathematics attrached to the newly formed Statistical Laboratory, Cambridge University which offered a postgraduate Diploma in Statistics (1947); here he played a crucial role with the Laboratory's many impressive students, but became very critical of the University's treatment of his subject, there being no professor and none of the academic staff held college fellowships. Birmingham University created a Chair in Mathematical Statistics and Daniels was invited to become the first Professor(1957-1978) His work here involved a close research relationship with JC Squire, a leading member of the medical faculty, where Daniels' research was characterised by his deployment of classical mathematical techniques to solve very difficult probabilistic problems arising from scientific issues. After he retired he returned to Cambridge (1978) to continue research in association with the Statistical Laboratory.
Memberships:
FRSS (President 1974-1975), and awarded the Royal Statistical Society Guy Medal in silver in 1957 and in gold in 1984. Honorary Fellow of the International Statistical Institute (1985). Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers (1984) |
| Membership category | Fellow |
| Date of election | 20/03/1980 |
| Age at election | 67 |
| Relationships | Married (1950) Barbara Edith Pickering |
| Sources | Sources:
Guardian obit 04 May 2000
Notes:
Death date from Sarah Goodall, Research Support Section; confirmed by Statistical Laboratory, Cambridge (01/06/2000 by GR). Death date on Times obituary (14 April 2000) is incorrect. Birthplace, see Independent obit. Times obit. has birth place as Edinburgh. Independent obit has death place as Shrewsbury
AssocMaterial:
NCUACS 109/8/02 Papers deposited Cambridge University Library
Obituaries:
Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society 2003 vol 49 pp 133-146, plate, by Sir David Cox |
| Royal Society code | NA1330 |
Archives associated with this Fellow
| Reference number | Title | Date |
| MSB/2/67 | 'Uni of L. lectures. Spare notes, Daniel's article, Ripley's article, Mollison's article. Biometric Society meeting. Williams & Daniels letter', file of M S Bartlett | 1976-1979 |
| RR/68/455 | Memoranda, on a paper 'The statistical theory of the strength of bundles of threads. I' by Henry Ellis Daniels | 8 June 1944 |
| EC/1980/07 | Daniels, Henry Ellis: certificate of election to the Royal Society | 1979 |
| AP/82/1 | Supporting data, regarding 'The determination of the individual equilibrium constants of the four intermediate reactions between oxygen and sheep haemoglobin' by H E [Henry Ellis] Daniels | [1955] |