Neyman, Jerzy (1894-1981)

Born in 1894, Jerzy Neyman began his career as a promising Polish statistician working in Warsaw and Crakow. After meeting Egon Pearson in the 1920s during studies abroad, Neyman began a decade-long collaboration with Pearson that led to a systematic theory of statistical tests of hypotheses. When Egon Pearson succeeded his father Karl as professor of Statistics at University College London, Neyman joined him, continuing to make fundamental contributions to the theory of statistical estimation and testing. Initially on cordial terms with R. A. Fisher, the relationship between the two deteriorated, and Neyman elected to move to the University of California, Berkeley, leading to the formation of one of the most important centers of statistics in the United States. Although Neyman continued to make important contributions to mathematical statistics after his move to the United States, his efforts largely shifted to applied statistics and departmental administration.