214
10 Statistics and Other Concerns
be proven right in his fight with Pearson has probably also played a role. Some
form of recognition he did get. A review article in 2001 in a British journal
about the history and background of skewed (log-normal) distribution by three
Swiss scientists in biology, statistics and mathematics [97] concludes with the
words: ‘Because of the fundamental and comprehensive contributions to the
understanding of skewed distributions some 100 years ago, we dedicate our
article to the Dutch astronomer Jacobus Cornelius Kapteyn’. Pearson is not
mentioned in that article.
10.3 Groningen University
When Kapteyn was appointed in Groningen, the university had a monumental
Academy building (see Fig. 4.5), but this was largely destroyed in a major fire
in 1906. However, it did not take long (until 1909) until a new Academy
Building (Fig. 10.5) was opened.
The tercentennial of the university in 1914 was celebrated with sobriety.
A highlight was a meeting in the Martini Church, to which the professors
dressed in academic gowns walked in procession (see Fig. 10.6). Kapteyn is
walking in the second row, a confirmation of his prominent role within the
university. At that time there were only 38 ‘ordinary’ professors, so the parade
in the figure shows more than a quarter of them. Four of the thirty-eight taught
Fig. 10.5 The new Academy Building in Groningen, opened in 1909. Beeldbank Groningen [98]
10 Statistics and Other Concerns
be proven right in his fight with Pearson has probably also played a role. Some
form of recognition he did get. A review article in 2001 in a British journal
about the history and background of skewed (log-normal) distribution by three
Swiss scientists in biology, statistics and mathematics [97] concludes with the
words: ‘Because of the fundamental and comprehensive contributions to the
understanding of skewed distributions some 100 years ago, we dedicate our
article to the Dutch astronomer Jacobus Cornelius Kapteyn’. Pearson is not
mentioned in that article.
10.3 Groningen University
When Kapteyn was appointed in Groningen, the university had a monumental
Academy building (see Fig. 4.5), but this was largely destroyed in a major fire
in 1906. However, it did not take long (until 1909) until a new Academy
Building (Fig. 10.5) was opened.
The tercentennial of the university in 1914 was celebrated with sobriety.
A highlight was a meeting in the Martini Church, to which the professors
dressed in academic gowns walked in procession (see Fig. 10.6). Kapteyn is
walking in the second row, a confirmation of his prominent role within the
university. At that time there were only 38 ‘ordinary’ professors, so the parade
in the figure shows more than a quarter of them. Four of the thirty-eight taught
Fig. 10.5 The new Academy Building in Groningen, opened in 1909. Beeldbank Groningen [98]