Eugene Grebenik (; 20 July 1919 – 14 October 2001), known as "Grebby", was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

civil servant who was a central figure in the development of

demography Demography () is the statistical study of human populations: their size, composition (e.g., ethnic group, age), and how they change through the interplay of fertility (births), mortality (deaths), and migration. Demographic analysis examine ...

in Britain. He was the first director of the UK's Civil Service College.

Early life and education

Grebenik was born in

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

a few months after the establishment of the

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...

. He was the only son and elder child of

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

parents Schulim Grebenik (1887–1972), estate agent, and his wife, Lea Helene (''née'' Lopatizkaya; 1894–1985), a qualified lawyer. His birth was not registered with the Soviet government because his mother did not want him to be

naturalised Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

and thought that this was mandatory. He had a sister, Renata Rosalie. The family moved to Danzig in 1920, then to

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, and finally, after the rise of

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

, to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in 1933. Grebenik could speak several European languages but none like a native. All his life he was known as Grebby, because he never liked the association with

eugenics Eugenics is a set of largely discredited beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter the frequency of various human phenotypes by inhibiting the fer ...

born by the name 'Eugene'. He attended the Xaverian College Catholic high school in

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

. Grebenik went to the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

in 1935 aged sixteen, and graduated with a first-class degree in economics (with statistics and demography as his special subject) at eighteen. He earned the Farr medal and prize.

Career

After a brief spell working in the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

, he returned to the LSE as research assistant to

Arthur Bowley Sir Arthur Lyon Bowley, FBA (6 November 1869 – 21 January 1957) was an English statistician and economist who worked on economic statistics and pioneered the use of sampling techniques in social surveys. Early life Bowley's father, James Wi ...

, and then moved to Bristol to work with H. A. Shannon. Their book, ''The Population of Bristol'', was published in 1943. Rejected by the army due to his foreign birth, Grebenik returned to the LSE in 1940 and graduated MSc in 1941. Promoted to lecturer in statistics in 1944, Grebenik was seconded to the Admiralty for the final year of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as a statistical officer, where he worked with William Brass. He was then seconded for a year to the secretariat of the Royal Commission on Population. He was naturalised on 23 November 1946 and shortly afterwards married Virginia Barker. Grebenik worked with

David Glass David Glass may refer to: *David Glass (businessman) David Dayne Glass (September 2, 1935 – January 9, 2020) was an American businessman. He was president and chief executive officer of Walmart Stores, Inc. He was also an owner and ch ...

, editor of Population Studies, from its inception in 1947—and continued to be associated with the journal as joint and then sole editor for fifty years. He was promoted to reader in demography at the LSE in 1949. His work with Glass on the 1946 family census, published in two volumes as The Trend and Pattern of Fertility in Great Britain (1954), was a landmark in cohort analysis. In 1954 Grebenik was appointed professor of social studies at the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

. In 1970 Grebenik was appointed the first principal of the Civil Service College at

Sunningdale Sunningdale is a village and a civil parish in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead. It takes up the extreme south-east corner of Berkshire, England and is adjoined by green buffers including Sunningdale Golf Club and Wentworth Golf ...

. He left the college in 1976 to conduct research at the

Office of Population Censuses and Surveys The Office of Population Censuses and Surveys (OPCS) was created in May 1970 through the merger of the General Register Office and the Government Social Survey Department. It was a forerunner and constituent, with the UK Central Statistical Off ...

, working with

Abraham Manie Adelstein Abraham Manie Adelstein (28 March 1916 – 18 October 1992) was a South African born medical doctor who became the United Kingdom's Chief Medical Statistician. Career Adelstein was the fourth of five children (four boys and one girl) of Nathan Ade ...

and John Fox, where he remained until he retired in 1984. Grebenik was secretary-general of the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population from 1963 to 1973. He organised three of the IUSSP's four-yearly general population conferences, including the one held in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

in 1965 in conjunction with the second

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

world population conference. He was also president of the British Society for Population Studies from 1979 to 1981. Among other honours, In 1997, he was the first recipient of the Olivia Schieffelin Nordberg award from the Population Council in New York. He and Virginia had three children: Michael, Peter and Catherine.

References

Other sources

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External links

Obituary
!--accessdate=16 February 2014--> {{DEFAULTSORT:Grebenik, Eugene 1919 births 2001 deaths 20th-century Royal Navy personnel Alumni of the London School of Economics British people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Civil servants in the Admiralty Civil servants in the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys Companions of the Order of the Bath Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United Kingdom Jewish British scientists Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom Soviet emigrants to Germany Ukrainian Jews Academics of the University of Leeds