Robert (Roy) Charles Geary (April 11, 1896 – February 8, 1983) was an Irish statistician and founder of both the Central Statistics Office and the

Economic and Social Research Institute The Economic and Social Research Institute is an Irish research institute founded in 1960 to provide evidence-based research used to inform public policy debate and decision-making. The research of the institute focuses on the areas of sustaina ...

. He held degrees from

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 student ...

and the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

. He lectured in mathematics at University College Southampton (1922–23) and in applied economics at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...

(1946–47). He was a statistician in the Department of Industry and Commerce between 1923 and 1957. The National University of Ireland conferred a Doctorate of Science on him in 1938. He was the founding director of the Central Statistics Office (Ireland) (in 1949). He was head of the

National Accounts National accounts or national account systems (NAS) are the implementation of complete and consistent accounting techniques for measuring the economic activity of a nation. These include detailed underlying measures that rely on double-entry ...

Branch of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

in New York from 1957 to 1960. He was the founding director of the

(in 1960) where he stayed till his retirement in 1966. He was an honorary fellow of the

American Statistical Association The American Statistical Association (ASA) is the main professional organization for statisticians and related professionals in the United States. It was founded in Boston, Massachusetts on November 27, 1839, and is the second oldest continuousl ...

and the

Institute of Mathematical Statistics The Institute of Mathematical Statistics is an international professional and scholarly society devoted to the development, dissemination, and application of statistics and probability. The Institute currently has about 4,000 members in all parts o ...

. In 1981, he won the

Boyle Medal Boyle is an English, Irish and Scottish surname of Gaelic, Anglo-Saxon or Norman origin. In the northwest of Ireland it is one of the most common family names. Notable people with the surname include: Disambiguation *Adam Boyle (disambiguation), ...

. To honour his contributions to social sciences, the UCD Geary Institute for Public Policy was named after him in 2005. Roy Geary is known for his contributions to the estimation of

errors-in-variables models In statistics, errors-in-variables models or measurement error models are regression models that account for measurement errors in the independent variables. In contrast, standard regression models assume that those regressors have been measured e ...

, Geary's C, the

Geary–Khamis dollar The international dollar (int'l dollar or intl dollar, symbols Int'l$., Intl$., Int$), also known as Geary–Khamis dollar (symbols G-K$ or GK$), is a hypothetical unit of currency that has the same purchasing power parity that the U.S. dollar ...

, the

Stone–Geary utility function The Stone–Geary utility function takes the form :U = \prod_ (q_i-\gamma_i)^ where U is utility, q_i is consumption of good i, and \beta and \gamma are parameters. For \gamma_i = 0, the Stone–Geary function reduces to the generalised Cobb–Dou ...

, and Geary's theorem, which has that if the sample mean is distributed independently of the sample variance, then the population is distributed normally.

Works

* ''Europe's Future in Figures'', North Holland (1962), ASIN: B002RB858E * ''Elements of Linear Programming with Economic Applications'' (with J. E. Spencer), Lubrecht & Cramer Ltd (June 1973), * ''Exercises in Mathematical Economics and Econometrics, with Outlines of Theory'' (with J. E. Spencer), London: Charles Griffin & Co (1987),

References

External sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Geary, Roy 1896 births 1983 deaths 20th-century Irish mathematicians University of Paris alumni Irish statisticians Fellows of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics 20th-century Irish economists Economic and Social Research Institute Fellows of the American Statistical Association Statistical and Social Inquiry Society of Ireland Fellows of the Econometric Society Irish expatriates in France