Library ISBN 978-83-7027-686-7 Price 20,00 zl of the Statistical News POLISH STATISTICIANS BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES POLISH ST A TISTICIANS BIOGRAPHIC AL NO TES Warsaw 2018 Library of the Statistical News POLISH STATISTICIANS BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES Warsaw 2018 Editorial Board Mirosław Krzyśko (chairman), Wojciech Adamczewski, Jan Berger, Elżbieta Gołata, Kazimierz Kruszka, Bożena Łazowska Language consultation Włodzimierz Okrasa Typesetting Beata Lipińska, Paweł Luty Publication available on website stat.gov.pl ISBN 978-83-7027-686-7 00-925 WARSZAWA, AL. NIEPODLEGŁOŚCI 208. Zakład Wydawnictw Statystycznych Information on sales of the publication – phone +48 (22) 608 32 10, 608 38 10 Zam. 197/2018/nakł. 800 Dear Readers Breakthroughs in the life of a nation always provoke thoughts on its past, economic, social and scientific achievements. This year’s centenary of regaining independence by Poland and the 100th anniversary of the establishment of Statistics Poland provide an opportunity to remind and popularise pioneers and outstanding Polish statisticians. With this in mind, a publication entitled Polish statisticians was created. The aim of the publication is to preserve the memory of the people who contributed to the organisation, development and popularisation of statistics in Poland and in the international arena. The publication presents biographies of thirty persons – eminent scientists and educators, discoverers of new methods and theories – who made a significant contribution to the development of statistics. Reading the biograms brings closer the evolution of statistical thought and helps to understand its universality, indicating the links with other disciplines of science. We hope that this publication will be a valuable item in the library of every reader interested in statistics as a science describing the world around us and the phenomena occurring in it. Chairman President Polish Statistical Association Statistics Poland Professor Czesław Domański Dominik Rozkrut Ph. D. Warsaw, June 2018 Editorial Board Mirosław Krzyśko (chairman) Emeritus Professor of Mathematical Sciences at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, member of the Main Council of the Polish Statistical Association (PSA) and chairman of the Section of Mathematical Statistics of the PSA, member of the Council of the Poznań Branch of the PSA. Wojciech Adamczewski Lawyer, retired director of the Statistical Publishing Establishment in Warsaw, member of the Warsaw Branch of the Polish Statistical Association. Jan Berger Historian, consultant at the Archive Department of the Office of the General Director of Statistics Poland, chairman of the Main Board of Control of the Polish Statistical Association (PSA), member of the Council of the Warsaw Branch of the PSA. Elżbieta Gołata Post-doctoral degree in economic sciences, associate professor at the Poznań University of Economics and Business. In the years 2008-2016, head of the Department of Statistics, since 2016 vice-rector for science and international relations at the Poznań University of Economics and Business, member of the Main Council of the Polish Statistical Association (PSA) and the President of the Council of the Poznań Branch of the PSA. Kazimierz Kruszka Doctor of economic sciences, retired employee of the Department of Statistics at the Poznań University of Economics and Business, consultant at the Statistical Office in Poznań, president of the Polish Statistical Association (PSA) in the years 2006-2010, member of the Main Board of the PSA, member of the Board of the Poznań Branch of the PSA, honorary member of the PSA. Bożena Łazowska Doctor of historical sciences, senior custodian, director of the Stefan Szulc Central Statistical Library, member of the Warsaw Branch of the Polish Statistical Association (PSA) and the Court of Arbitration of the Main Council of the PSA. Introduction Achievements of Polish statistics have been significant in the international arena for several decades and we cannot forget about their creators. In order to preserve the memory of all the people who, by their scientific, didactic, publishing, organising and popularising work, created the basis for the development of statistics in Poland, we prepared a publication entitled “Polish statisticians”. By introducing this publication to the Readers on the hundred anniversary of the establishment of Statistics Poland, we hope that it will enrich the knowledge of the history of Polish statistics. The characters, whose biographies are provided in this publication, were selected as a result of careful thought of the Editorial Board. The chosen ones are people known for their outstanding scientific and didactic activity, authors of research works and coursebooks, creators of new concepts, discoverers of new methods and theories, prominent organisers of official statistics as well as editors and publishers of statistical publications. Careful attention was devoted to the selection of the authors of biograms also. Aiming at the credibility of provided information, the personal and environmental closeness of the author of the biogram to the described character as well as easy access to the source materials were considered as a priority. The Editorial Board of the publication would like to thank all the people who contributed to the creation of this work, and, above all, the authors of the individual biograms. We would like to separately express gratitude to Dr Dominik Rozkrut – the President of Statistics Poland, for his kindness and support, without which this publication could not have appeared. EDITORIAL BOARD Contents Preface . 3 Editiorial board . 4 Introduction . 5 Baksalary Jerzy K. 7 Barbacki Stefan . 14 Bartoszyński Robert . 20 Czekanowski Jan . 27 Czerwiński Zbigniew . 34 Elandt-Johnson Regina C. 40 Fisz Marek . 46 Hellwig Zdzisław Henryk . 54 Holzer Jerzy Zdzisław . 58 Iwasiewicz Andrzej . 66 Jóźwiak Janina . 70 Klonecki Witold . 76 Lange Oskar Ryszard . 79 Łomnicki Antoni . 86 Neyman (Spława) Jerzy . 93 Oktaba Wiktor . 102 Olekiewicz Mikołaj . 108 Perkal Julian . 112 Rosset Edward . 117 Sadowski Wiesław . 126 Steinhaus Hugo Dyonizy . 130 Tomaszewicz Andrzej . 138 Ulam Stanisław Marcin . 144 Vielrose Egon . 154 Welfe Władysław . 159 Zając Kazimierz . 164 Zasępa Ryszard . 170 Zeliaś Aleksander Józef . 174 Zieliński Ryszard . 179 Zubrzycki Stefan . 182 Authors of biograms . 188 6 Jerzy K. BAKSALARY (1944–2005) Jerzy K. Baksalary was born in Poznań on 25th June 1944. He studied mathematics at the Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry of the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, where he earned the master’s degree in 1969. Immediately after his graduation, he was employed at the Mathematics at the Higher School of Agriculture (which changed its name to Agricultural University in 1972, and in 2008 – to the Poznań University of Life Sciences). In 1975, this chair was incorporated into the inter-faculty Department of Math- ematical and Statistical Methods of the Agricultural University in Poznań. At that Depart- ment, currently a Chair, Jerzy K. Baksalary worked until 1988. In 1975, he earned a doctorate in mathematical sciences based on the dissertation titled Possibility of estimation of par- ametric functions in linear models (Estymowalność funkcji parametrycznych w modelach liniowych) written under the supervision of professor Tadeusz Caliński, Ph.D. He earned his degree of doctor habilitatus in mathematical sciences in the field of mathematics in 1984 on the basis of the dissertation titled A study of the equivalence between a Gauss-Markoff model and its augmentation by nuisance parameters, published in Series Statistics 15 (1984) 3–35; he earned both degrees at the Adam Mickiewicz University (at the Faculty of Math- ematics, Physics and Chemistry and the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics respectively). At that time, i.e. until 1988, Jerzy K. Baksalary published 85 papers, including 53 before and 32 after the habilitation. Mathematics was not the only one area of Jerzy K. Baksalary activity – he also took part in civic activity. In 1980–1981, he was one of the organisers and activists of Solidarity at the Agricultural University and the Poznań region. In 1988, Jerzy K. Baksalary moved to Zielona Góra, where he took up a post of docent at the Institute of Higher Mathematics of the Tadeusz Kotarbiński Pedagogical University (WSPTK). The academic year 1989/1990 was a significant year in Professor Baksalary’s career. As a professor of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters, he conducted research at the University of Tampere, which resulted in publication of 22 papers dated 1989 or 1990 (as the author or a co-author). In 1990, on request submitted by the Coun- 7 cil of the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics of the Adam Mickiewicz University, he was awarded the academic title of Professor of Mathematical Sciences. Having returned from Finland, Professor Baksalary combined his academic work with administrative activities. In 1990, he became the rector of the WSPTK, and he held this honourable function for two subsequent terms (1990–1993 and 1993–1996). At that time, he strengthened the staff of the institution and expanded its offer for students e.g. by establishing the Institute of Management, the Institute of Philosophy, foreign language colleges, and new academic courses, not strictly related to pedagogy. His publication record between 1991 and 1996 includes 23 papers. The Pedagogical Uni- versity became a place for annual meetings of mathematicians during the conferenc- es titled Zielona Góra’s Coallitions