Every year the JEHPS lists the books and articles on the history of probability and statistics that have appeared in the previous year. Inevitably there will be omissions but these can be made good. If you know of any in the list below, please contact me, John Aldrich, at john.aldrich@soton.ac.uk and I will put things right.
The literature on the history of probability and statistics is very dispersed, with contributions appearing both in outlets specialising in history and in outlets specialising in probability and statistics. The present list covers contributions of both kinds and aims to be comprehensive. At the same time, by considering only the history of probability and statistics, it is more focussed than the existing resources.
Besides general search engines like
the principal resources are
Current Index to Statistics
Mathematical Reviews
Zentralblatt MATH
Historia Mathematica
Isis
The Current Index to Statistics lists publications, journal articles and books. Mathematical Reviews and Zentralblatt MATH generally summarise each publication. Historia Mathematica has abstracts of recent publications in each issue. Isis publishes a Current Bibliography as the fifth issue each year. The entries below give titles and, where available, a link to an MR review.
William J. Adams (2009) The Life and Times of the Central Limit Theorem. Second edition. Including papers by W. Feller and L. LeCam and comments and a rejoinder by H. F. Trotter, J. L. Doob, David Pollard and LeCam. With an appendix containing four fundamental papers by A. M. Lyapunov. History of Mathematics, 35. American Mathematical Society, Providence, RI; London Mathematical Society, London. Amazon MR2569085
Keith J. Devlin (2008) The Unfinished Game: Pascal, Fermat, and the Seventeenth-Century Letter That Made the World Modern. Basic Ideas. Amazon MR2543214
Vincent F. Hendricks (Ed.) (2009) Probability Theory: Philosophy, Recent History and Relations to Science, Springer Netherlands. (paperback edition of 2001 hardback) Amazon.
Jean-Guy Prévost (2009): A
Total Science. Statistics in Liberal and Fascist Italy. Mc Gill University
Press. Amazon
Jesus Basulto
Santos and Juan José Gardia de Hoyo (eds) (2009) Historia de la probabilidad y la estadistica (IV), Universidad de
Huelva publicaciones.
Reinhard Siegmund-Schultze (2009) Mathematicians Fleeing from
Nazi Germany. Individual Fates and Global Impact, Princeton University Press.
Amazon
MR2522825
William H. Tucker (2009) The Cattell Controversy: Race, Science, and Ideology, Chicago: University of Illinois Press. Amazon
These are ordered alphabetically by the name of the author of the book under review. Some of the books reviewed appeared in earlier lists.
Alan G. Cock & Donald R. Forsdyke (2008) “Treasure Your Exceptions”: The Science and Life of William Bateson. Reviewed by Peter S. Harper Human Genetics, 125, Number 2 / March, 2009 233-234.
Alan G. Cock & Donald R. Forsdyke (2008) “Treasure Your Exceptions”: The Science and Life of William Bateson. Reviewed by Michael J. Wade Evolution, 63(10):2768-2770. 2009
I. M. Fasol-Boltzmann and G. L. Fasol (Eds.) (2006) Ludwig Boltzmann (1844–1906): Zum hundertsten Todestag. Reviewed by Tilman Sauer Historia Mathematica, 37, Issue 2 Pages 310-311. 2009
Sarah E. Igo (2007) The Averaged American: Surveys, Citizens, and the Making of a Mass Public. Reviewed by Bettina Liverant. Histoire sociale/Social history, 42, 499-500.
Philippe
Le Gall (2007) A History of Econometrics
in France: From Nature to Models. Reviewed by Humberto Barreto, History of Political Economy, 41, (4), (2009) 749-751.
Philippe
Le Gall (2007) A History of Econometrics
in France: From Nature to Models. Reviewed by Michel Armatte, European Journal of the History of Economic
Thought, 16, (2009) 384-389.
Erich
Lehmann (2007) Reminiscences of a
Statistician. Reviewed by David Bellhouse MR2367933
Theodore M. Porter (2005) Karl Pearson—The Scientific Life in a Statistical Age. Reviewed by H. A. David, International Statistical Review, 77, (2009), 30-39.
Jesus
Basulto Santos and Juan José Gardia de Hoyo (eds), Historia de la probabilidad y la estadistica (IV)..Reviewed by
March Barbut Mathématiques et Sciences
Humaines, Nn° 186, (2009) here
William H. Tucker (2009) The Cattell Controversy: Race, Science, and Ideology. Reviewed by Daniel J. Denis, Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, 45, Issue 4 , 390-392.
The Journal Electronique is the only journal dedicated to the history of probability and statistics and is already the most important publication in terms of the number of articles it publishes. Other contributions are widely scattered across history of science journals, statistics journals, mathematics journals and natural and social science journals. Note that sometimes MR lists an article without reviewing it and sometimes presents the bibliography without the review. Where a link is given there is something—either a review or a bibliography.
Aalen, O., P. K. Andersen, O. Borgan, R. Gill and N. Keiding History
of applications of martingales in survival analysis, Journal
Electronique d'Histoire des Probabilités et de la Statistique, 5,
(2).
Aldrich, J. (2009) Burnside’s Engagement with the “Modern Theory of Statistics”. Archive for History of Exact Sciences. 63 (1), 2009, 51-79. MR2470903
Aldrich, J. (2009) England and Continental Probability in the Inter-War Years Journal Electronique d'Histoire des Probabilités et de la Statistique, 5, (2) pp. 24.
Armatte, M.
(2009) Probability and Statistics at the
turn of 1900 Journal Electronique d'Histoire des Probabilités
et de la Statistique, 5, (2).
Baccini, A. (2009) F. Y. Edgeworth’s Treatise
on Probabilities, History of Political
Economy, 41, (1): 143-162.
Bartholomew,
D, J., I. J. Deary and M. Lawn (2009) Sir Godfrey Thomson: a Statistical Pioneer,
Journal of the Royal Statistical Society,
Series A, 172 Issue 2, 467-482.
Bellhouse, D. R. (2009) Karl Pearson's Influence in the United States, International Statistical Review, 77, 51-63.
Bellhouse, D. R. and M. Davison (2009) De Moivre's Poisson Approximation to the Binomial, International Statistical Review, 77, 451-459.
Bellhouse,
D. R., E. M. Renouf, R. Raut and M. A. Bauer (2009) De Moivre's Knowledge
Community: an Analysis of the Subscription List to the Miscellanea Analytica, Notes
and Records of the Royal Society of London, 63, 137-162.
Berg,
C. (2009) Biography
of Jessen, Journal
Electronique d'Histoire des Probabilités et de la Statistique, 5,
(2).
Bienvenu, L., G. Shafer and A. Shen (2009) On the history of martingales in the study of randomness, Journal Electronique d'Histoire des Probabilités et de la Statistique, 5, (1).
Borel, E.
(2009) Le
Calcul des Probabilités et la méthode des majorités (1907), Journal Electronique d'Histoire des Probabilités
et de la Statistique, 5, (2). See Gauvrit (2009).
Borroni, C. G. (2009) Understanding Karl Pearson's Influence on Italian Statistics in the Early 20th Century, International Statistical Review, 77, 81-95.
Brown, H. R., W. Myrvold and J. Uffink (2009) Boltzmann's H-theorem, its Discontents, and the Birth of Statistical Mechanics, Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics, 174-191.
Bru, B., M. F. Bru and K. L. Chung (2009) Borel and the St Petersburg martingale, Journal Electronique d'Histoire des Probabilités et de la Statistique, 5, (1). MR2520662
Bru, B. and S. Eid (2009) Jessen’s theorem and Lévy’s lemma, Journal Electronique d'Histoire des Probabilités et de la Statistique, 5, (1). MR2520663
Campos, D. G. (2009) The Framing of the
Fundamental Probability Set: A Historical Case Study on the Context of
Mathematical Discovery, Perspectives on
Science, 17, 385–416. MR2583356
David, H. A. (2009) A Historical Note on Zero Correlation and Independence, American Statistician, 63, (2), 185-186.
Droesbeke, J.-J. (2009) Historical Anniversaries: William Playfair, ISI Newsletter, 33, No. 2 (98) 2009.
Droesbeke, J.-J. (2009) Historical Anniversaries: Lucien March ISI Newsletter 33, No. 3 (99) 2009
de Falguerolles, A. (2009) La méthode d'ajustement de Mayer et
ses liens avec les méthodes de classification, Mathématiques et Sciences Humaines. Mathematics
and Social Sciences, No. 187, 43-58. MR2596886
Fiori, A. M. and M. Zenga (2009) Karl Pearson and the Origin of Kurtosis, International Statistical Review, 77, 40-50.
Friedman, W. A. (2009) The Harvard Economic Service and the Problems of Forecasting, History of Political Economy, 41, (1), 57-88.
Gauvrit, N. (2009) From Borel’s remarks to subjective probability studies, Journal Electronique d'Histoire des Probabilités
et de la Statistique, 5, (2). MR2575168 See Borel (2009).
Gremy, J-P. (2009) Les sondages d’opinion clandestins
dans la France occupée,
Document 1 : Résultats
d’un sondage sur le Procès Pucheu (mai 1944, Document 2 : Résultats d’un sondage sur le Procès Pucheu (mai 1944),
Journal Electronique d'Histoire des Probabilités et de la Statistique, 5,
(2).
Gilham, N. W. (2009) Cousins: Charles Darwin, Sir Francis Galton and the Birth of Eugenics, Significance, 6, 132-135.
Guttorp, P. and G. Lindgren (2009) Karl Pearson and the Scandinavian School of Statistics, International Statistical Review, 77, 64-71.
Hitchcock, D. B.
(2009) Yates and Contingency Tables: 75 Years
Later, Journal Electronique d'Histoire des
Probabilités et de la Statistique, 5,
(2). MR2575161
Hunter,
P. W. (2009) Gertrude Cox in Egypt: A Case Study in Science Patronage and International
Statistics Education during the Cold War, Science
in Context, 22, 47-83.
Jordan, C. (2009) Leçons de Probabilités à l’Ecole Polytechnique (1888),
Journal Electronique d'Histoire des Probabilités et de la Statistique, 5,
(2). See Moatti (2009).
Joyce Of Weekly Wages and the Price of Wheat—and Soaring IQs, Significance, 6, (2009), 38-39.
Kadane, J. B. Bayesian Thought in Early Modern Detective Stories: Monsieur Lecoq, C. Auguste Dupin and Sherlock Holmes, Statistical Science, 24, (2009), 238-243. Project Euclid
Krickeberg, C. (2009) My Encounters with Martingales, Journal Electronique d'Histoire des Probabilités et de la Statistique, 5, (2).
Koenke, R. (2009) The Median is
the Message: Wilson and Hifferty’s Experiments on the Law of Errors, American Statistician, 63, (1), 20-25.
Labbé, M. (2009) Internationalisme statistique et
statistique des nationalités au 19e siècle, Courrier
des Statistiques, n° 127, 39-45.
Labbé, M. (2009)
Statistique ethnique, légitimité politique et changement de régime,
Critique Internationale, n° 45, 9-18.
Lai, T. L..
(2009) History
of martingales in sequential analysis and time series, Journal
Electronique d'Histoire des Probabilités et de la Statistique, 5, (1).
Lewis, V. V. (2009) Pascal and
Fermat Divide the Stakes, Chance, 22, 51-54.
Locker, B. (2009) Doob at Lyon, Journal Electronique d'Histoire des Probabilités et de la Statistique, 5, (1). MR2520667
Louçã, F. (2009) Emancipation Through Interaction—How Eugenics and Statistics Converged and Diverged, Journal of the History of Biology, 42, (4), 649-684.
McLean, I. (2009) Thomas Jefferson, James Madison,
probability and constitutions, Journal Electronique d'Histoire des
Probabilités et de la Statistique, 5,
(2).
Maccabelli, T. (2009) Measuring Inequality: Pareto's Ambiguous Contribution, History of Political Economy, 41(1): 183-208.
Magnello, M. E. (2009) Eminent Victorians and Early Statistical Societies, Significance, 6, 86-88.
Magnello, M. E. (2009) Karl Pearson and the Establishment of Mathematical Statistics, International Statistical Review, 77, 3-29.
Masin, S. C., V. Zudini and M. Antonelli (2009) Early
Alternative Derivations of Fechner's Law, Journal
of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, 45, (1), 56-65.
Mansuy, R.
(2009) The origins of the word “martingale”, Journal Electronique d'Histoire des Probabilités
et de la Statistique, 5, (1).
Mazliak, L.
(2009) How Paul Lévy saw Jean Ville and martingales, Journal Electronique d'Histoire des Probabilités
et de la Statistique, 5, (1).
Mazliak, L. and
G. Shafer (2009) The Splendors and Miseries of Martingales, Journal
Electronique d'Histoire des Probabilités et de la Statistique, 5,
(1).
Meyer, P.-A. (2009) Stochastic processes from 1950 to the present,
Journal Electronique d'Histoire des Probabilités et de la Statistique, 5,
(1).
Moatti, A.
(2009) Quelques
commentaires sur les leçons de Jordan, Journal
Electronique d'Histoire des Probabilités et de la Statistique, 5,
(2). See Jordan (2009).
Nayak, T. K. (2009) Impact of Karl Pearson's Work on Statistical Developments in India, International Statistical Review, 77, 72-80.
Nowman, K. B. (2009) Rex Bergstrom’s Contribution to Continuous Time Econometric Macroeconometric Modeling, Econometric Theory, 25, Special Issue 04, August 2009, pp 1087-1098.
Ogawa, J and I. Olkin (2008) A Tale of Two Countries: The Craig–Sakamoto–Matusita theorem, Journal of Statistical Planning and Inference, 138, (11), 3419-3428.
Ohshumi, N.
(2008) Memories of Chikio Hayashi (2004) Journal
Electronique d'Histoire des Probabilités et de la Statistique, 3
(2).
Pincoki, J. I. (2009) From Sunspots to the Southern Oscillation: Confirming
Models of Large-scale Phenomena in Meteorology, Studies In History and Philosophy of Science Part A, 40, 45-56.
Reese, R. A. Darwin, Mendel and the evolution of evolution, Significance, 6, (2009), 127-129.
Robert, C. P., N. Chopin and J. Rousseau
(2009) Harold Jeffreys’s Theory of Probability Revisited (with discussion), Statistical Science, 24, (2009), 141-194. Project Euclid
Rohrbasser, J.-M. (2009) John Graunt et les bulletins de Londres : une statistique de la mortalité au XVIIe siècle, Revue XVIIe siècle, 345-368.
Roncaglia, A.
(2009) Keynes and Probability: An Assessment, European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, 16, 489-510.
Rouanet, H. (2008)
Historical Sketch (2004) Journal
Electronique d'Histoire des Probabilités et de la Statistique, 4
(2).
Seneta, E. Seneta (2009) Karl Pearson in Russian Contexts International Statistical Review, 77, 118-146.
Seneta, E. and I. H. Stamhuis (2009) Preface to Karl Pearson Issue, International Statistical Review, 77, 1-2.
Shafer, G.
(2009) The education of Jean André Ville, Journal Electronique d'Histoire des Probabilités
et de la Statistique, 5, (1).
Siegmund-Schultze, R. (2009) The
Institute Henri Poincaré and Mathematics in France between the Wars, Revue d'histoire des sciences, 62, 247-284. MR2597165
Siegmund-Schultze, R. (2009) Sets
versus Trial Sequences, Hausdorff versus von Mises: “Pure” Mathematics prevails
in the Foundations of Probability around 1920, Historia Mathematica, 37,
204-241.
Stamhuis, I. H. and E. Seneta (2009) Pearson's Statistics in the Netherlands and the Astronomer Kapteyn, International Statistical Review, 77, 96-117.
Thomsen, S. W. (2009) Some Evidence concerning the Genesis of Shannon’s
Information Theory, Studies in History
and Philosophy of Science Part A, 40, Issue 1, March, 81-91
Watanabe, S. (2009) Japanese contributions to martingale theory, Journal Electronique d'Histoire des Probabilités
et de la Statistique, 5, (1). MR2520669
Wilkinson, L. and M. Friendly (2009) The History of the Cluster Heat Map, American Statistician, 63, (2), 179-184.
Wright D. B. (2009) Ten Statisticians and Their Impacts for Psychologists, Perspectives on Psychological Science, 4, (6), 587-597.
A few journals regularly publish interviews with distinguished practitioners and obituaries. These publications can be important sources for the writing of contemporary history.
These are ordered alphabetically by name of interviewee.
Jim Durbin interviewed by Julian Champkin, Significance, 6, (2009), 130-131.
Leo Goodman interviewed by Mark P. Becker, Statistical Science, 24, (2009), 362-385. Project Euclid
Myles Hollander interviewed by Francisco J. Samaniego, Statistical Science, 24, (2009), 420-438. Project Euclid
Peter Huber interviewed by Andreas Buja and Hans R. Künsch, Statistical Science, 24, (2009), 120-135. Project Euclid
Lord Lipsey interviewed by Julian Champkin, Significance, 5, (2008), 179-180.
Howard Raiffa interviewed by Stephen E. Fienberg, Statistical Science, 24, (2009), 136-149. Project Euclid
Hans Rosling interviewed by Julian Champkin, Significance, 6, (2009), 179-181.
Shayle R. Searle interviewed by Martin T. Wells, Statistical Science, 24, (2009), 244-254. Project Euclid
Bill van Zwet interviewed by R. J. Beran and N. I. Fisher, Statistical Science, 24, (2009), 87-115. Project Euclid
These are ordered alphabetically by name of deceased.
Mir Maswood Ali (1929-2009) remembered by Mir Masoom Ali, ISI
Newsletter (2009) 33, No. 3 (99).
Norman Thomas John Bailey, 1923–2007 remembered by P. Armitage, J. F. Bithell, Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series A, 172 (3), 689-690.
Klaus Bellmann remembered by Ludwig A. Hothorn, Biometrical Journal, 2009), 51, (3), 385-547.
Kai Lai Chung 1917-2009 remembered by Farid AitSahlia, Erhan Çinlar, Elton P. Hsu and Ruth J. Williams, IMS Bulletin, (2009) 38, (7), 12-13.
Wilfrid
J. Dixon 1915-2008 remembered by Megan Murphy, IMS Bulletin, 38 (3),
6.
Václav Fabian 1929-2007 remembered by Václav Dupač and Zuzana Prášková, IMS Bulletin, (2009), 38 (2), 6-7.
David A. Freedman 1938-2008 remembered by Philip B. Stark, IMS Bulletin, (2009), 38 (1), 10-11.
I. J. Good 1916-2009 remembered by David Banks, IMS Bulletin, (2009) 38, (5), 11-12.
Clive W. J. Granger remembered by David F.
Hendry and Peter C. B. Phillips, Econometric
Theory, (2009), 25, (05),
1139-1142.
C. C. Heyde, 1939–2008 remembered by Joe Gani, Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series A, (2009), 172, (1), 278-280.
Kiyosi Itô 1915-2008 remembered by Shinzo Watanabe, IMS Bulletin (2009), 38 (3), 4-5.
David George Kendall, 1918–2007
remembered by Geoffrey Grimmett, Journal
of the Royal Statistical Society: Series A, (2009),
172, (2), 275-278.
Hendrik Salomon Konijn, 1918–2008 remembered by Gad Nathan Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series A, (2009), 172, (4), 933.
Jürgen Lehn remembered by Sevtap Kestel ISI Newsletter, (2009), 33, No. 1 (97).
Raymond Lévy-Bruhl (1922-2008) remembered by Edmond
Malinvaud, ISI Newsletter, (2009), 33, No. 2 (98).
John Mandel, 1914–2007 remembered by Antonio Possolo, Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series A, (2009), 172, (3), 691-692.
Konstantin Momirović (1932-2004) remembered by Franjo Prot, Ankica Hošek, Ksenija Bosnar, Vesna Lužar Stiffler, Vesna Hljuz Dobrić, Zoran Bekić, and Marijan Gredelj ISI Newsletter, (2009), 33, No. 3 (99).
Philippe Nasse (1939-2008) remembered by Jean-Louis Bodin ISI
Newsletter, (2009), 33, No. 2 (98).
Michael Ward remembered by Derek Blades ISI Newsletter, (2009) 33, No. 1 (97).
Keith Worsley 1951-2009 remembered by Jonathan Taylor, Karl Friston and Alan Evans, IMS Bulletin, (2009) 38, (5), 10.
The following journals were consulted. (Most publish relevant articles only occasionally and some published none in the period under review.)
American Statistician, Annals of Probability, Annals of Science, Archive for History of Exact Sciences, Australian & New Zealand Journal of Statistics,
Bayesian Analysis, Biometrical Journal, Biometrika, Bollettino di Storia delle Scienze Matematiche,
British Journal for the Philosophy of Science,
British Journal of the History of Science, Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society,
Bulletin of the History of Medicine, Centaurus, Chance, Convergence, Econometric Theory, Erkenntnis, European Journal of the History of Economic Thought,
Historia Mathematica, Historia Scientiarum, History and Philosophy of Logic, History of Political Economy, History of Science, IMS Bulletin, ISI Newsletter, International Statistical Review, Isis, Journal de la Société Francaise de Statistique,
Journal Electronique d'Histoire
des Probabilités et de la Statistique, Journal of Official Statistics, Journal of the American Statistical Association,
Journal of Applied Probability,
Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, Journal of the History of Biology, Journal
of the History of Economic Thought, Journal
of the Royal Statistical Society A, Journal of Statistical Planning and Inference,
NTM Zeitschrift für Geschichte der Wissenschaften, Technik
und Medizin, Mathématiques et sciences humaines, Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, Perspectives on Science, Philosophy of Science, Quality
& Quantity, Revue d'histoire des mathématiques, Revue d'histoire des sciences, Rutherford Journal, Social Studies of Science, Science in Context, Significance, Statistical Science Statistics in Medicine, Studies In History and Philosophy of Science Part A,
Studies In History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies
In History and Philosophy of Modern Physics, Studies
in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy
of Biological and Biomedical Sciences.