David Harold Blackwell
Statistician whose theorems underpin modern decision theory
At a glance
- Inventor
- David Harold Blackwell
- Life
- 1919–2010
- Birthplace
- Centralia, Illinois
- Country
- United States
- Region
- United States
- Era
- 1950–2000
- Fields
- Science & Engineering
- Evidence
- Documented
- Records
- 0 in this archive
What they did
Blackwell's work spans the Rao–Blackwell theorem on improving estimators, the theory of dynamic programming, Bayesian inference, game theory and information theory.
Historical context
He completed his doctorate at 22, then spent a year at the Institute for Advanced Study during which Princeton objected to his presence as a visiting fellow.
Obstacles
He applied to more than a hundred universities and was hired by Howard, where he chaired the mathematics department, before Berkeley appointed him in 1954 — a decade after first considering and passing over his candidacy.
The legacy
In 1965 he became the first Black mathematician elected to the National Academy of Sciences. The Blackwell–Girshick and Rao–Blackwell results are standard graduate material.
The evidence
Biographical Memoir of David H. Blackwell
Institutional recordDavid Blackwell faculty and departmental papers
Institutional record
Documentation strength
- 2
- Sources
- 0
- Primary
- 2
- Publishers
Calculated from the sources actually attached to this record — the closer a source sits to the original document, the more it counts. It is never asserted by hand.