John Tukey

John Tukey
Born(1915-06-16)June 16, 1915
New Bedford, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedJuly 26, 2000(2000-07-26) (aged 85)
New Brunswick, New Jersey, U.S.
Education
  • Brown University (BA, MS)
  • Princeton University (PhD)
Known for
Awards
Scientific career
FieldsTopology
Institutions
  • Bell Labs
  • Princeton University
Thesis On Denumerability in Topology
Doctoral advisor
Solomon Lefschetz
Doctoral students
  • David R. Brillinger
  • Kai Lai Chung
  • Arthur Dempster
  • Leo Goodman
  • Karen Kafadar
  • Thomas E. Kurtz
  • Paul Meier
  • Frederick Mosteller
  • John A. Hartigan

John Wilder Tukey (/ˈtki/; June 16, 1915 – July 26, 2000) was an American mathematician and statistician, best known for the development of the fast Fourier Transform (FFT) algorithm, the box plot and for laying the foundations of the field of exploratory data analysis. The Tukey range test, the Tukey lambda distribution, the Tukey test of additivity, and the Teichmüller–Tukey lemma all bear his name. He is also credited with coining the term bit and the first published use of the word software.