Erastus L. De Forest

Erastus Lyman De Forest (1834–1888) was an American mathematician, who studied at Yale University.

Erastus Lyman De Forest
Born(1834-06-27)June 27, 1834
Watertown, Connecticut
DiedJune 6, 1888(1888-06-06) (aged 53)
Watertown, Connecticut
Alma materYale University
Scientific career
FieldsMathematics
InstitutionsYale University

Life and work

Son of a Yale graduate, De Forest graduated himself at Yale University in 1854 and was awarded PhB in 1856.[1] After, De Forest vanished for two years while a trip to New York, and his family feared the worst but, finally, he turned up in Australia, teaching in Melbourne.[2] In 1861 he returned to New Haven and devoted himself to study of mathematics.

In 1867–68 he was asked by his uncle, who was the president of Knickerbocker Life Insurance Company of New York, to improve the mortality tables used in his business.[3]

Between 1870 and 1885, De Forest published more than twenty articles on statistics, using in some of them an early version of the Monte Carlo method to smooth time series.[4]

DeForest Senior Prize in Mathematics

The DeForest Senior Prize in Mathematics was established by John DeForest (Erastus's father) at Yale University in 1855 and increased in 1886 by Erastus. It is awarded to seniors for proficiency in pure and applied mathematics.[5]

References
  1. Stigler 1978, p. 253.
  2. Stigler 1978, p. 254.
  3. Stigler 1978, pp. 254–255.
  4. Gentle 2002, p. 329.
  5. "Prizes by Department or Subject | Office of the Secretary and Vice President for Student Life". secretary.yale.edu. Retrieved 30 November 2018.

Bibliography
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