Alexander aitken artist
Alexander Aitken
New Zealand mathematician (–)
For the Scottish rugby union player., see Alexander Aitken (rugby union). For the Scottish surveyor, see Alexander Aitkin.
Alexander Craig "Alec" AitkenFRS FRSE FRSLFRSNZ (1 April – 3 November ) was one of New Zealand's most eminent mathematicians.[3][4] In a paper he introduced the concept of generalized least squares, along with now standard vector/matrix notation for the linear regression model.[5] Another influential paper co-authored with his student Harold Silverstone established the lower bound on the variance of an estimator,[6] now known as Cramér–Rao bound.[7] He was elected to the Royal Society of Literature for his World War I memoir, Gallipoli to the Somme.[8]
Life and work
Aitken was born on 1 April in Dunedin, the eldest of the seven children of Elizabeth Towers and William Aitken. He was of Scottish descent, his grandfather having emigrated Alexander craig aitken biography children.