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David Kendall |
David Kendall has passed away on Tuesday, October 23, 2007, at the age of 89. David was heavily involved in the formation of the Bernoulli Society, and its activities were always a matter of great interest to him. The International Association for Statistics in the Physical Sciences (IASPS) had been conceived by Jerzy Neyman to systematically study statistical problems raised by applications in the physical sciences and in 1961, the association became a vital section within the International Statistical Institute (ISI). David's election in 1973 as President of IASPS was a clear sign of the worldwide recognition of his scientific contributions to the physical sciences. However, at that time, he could hardly know the role he would be playing in the creation of the Bernoulli Society. When David started his office, he quickly realized that it was increasingly difficult for IASPS to constrain its activities purely to the physical sciences. Many other applications of stochastic thinking suggested the creation of an opening to the universal nature of this methodology. It was his dream to gear the society into this broader assignment.
The desire of IASPS to broaden its interests was linked to the wishes of two other groups: firstly, the European Statisticians (ES) (Chair Jim Durbin) that had been active within the US-based Institute of Mathematical Statistics (IMS), but wanted to acquire more independence. Secondly, the Stochastic Processes Committee (CCSP) (Chair Jef L. Teugels), created in 1972 at the initiative of Julian Keilson that was looking for a more international umbrella for its activities. Kendall quickly realized that a transformation of IASPS would be among the best possible solutions for most, if not all, of these aspirations. Early in July 1974, he was ready with a first draft of the necessary changes to the IASPS statutes. After some cosmetic changes, Kendall's proposal was accepted by the CCSP in June 1974 by the ES in August 1974 and then by the ISI Bureau on September 4,1974. After the final approval by the membership of IASPS, the association ceased to exist on June 10, 1975, and was immediately reconstituted into the Bernoulli Society for Mathematical Statistics and Probability.
I vividly remember how David Kendall transferred the presidential responsibilities to his successor David Blackwell during the ISI-session in September 1975 in Warsaw. Since he was very proud of his successful achievement, he often insisted that he should be referred to as the first President of the Bernoulli Society. David also remained a key person in the creation and the later activities of the Committee for Statistics in the Physical Sciences, started within the Bernoulli Society in Warsaw, to take care that the original interests of IASPS would not go astray within the broader mission of the Bernoulli Society.
Apart from his vital role in the above history, David will be often remembered for two other initiatives. In 1974, Kendall contacted Peter Ferdinand Bernoulli-Stiffler, a chemist living in Basel, Switzerland, with the request to the Bernoulli family to allow the society the use of elements of the Bernoulli family's coat of arms. This is the reason for the argent and vert colors on all of the Bernoulli stationery. Also, Peter Bernoulli offered a book to Kendall with the history and genealogy of the Bernoulli family. At the end of his/her presidency, the outgoing president signs the book and passes it on to the incoming president at the ISI-session. As David candidly remarked, there was an ample supply of blank sheets in the book, proving in a nutshell his wish for a bright and long future for a society that was very dear to his heart.
Jef Teugels
