Frank Carter Duckworth MBE (26 December 1939 – 21 June 2024) was an English

statistician A statistician is a person who works with Theory, theoretical or applied statistics. The profession exists in both the private sector, private and public sectors. It is common to combine statistical knowledge with expertise in other subjects, a ...

who co-developed the Duckworth–Lewis method of resetting targets in

limited overs cricket Limited overs cricket, also known as white ball cricket, is a version of the sport of cricket in which a match is generally completed within one day. There are a number of formats, including List A cricket (8-hour games), Twenty20 cricket (3-h ...

matches interrupted by weather or other circumstances.

Early life and education

Duckworth was born on 26 December 1939 in

Lytham St Annes Lytham St Annes () is a seaside town in the Borough of Fylde in Lancashire, England. It is on the The Fylde, Fylde coast, directly south of Blackpool on the Ribble Estuary. The population of the built-up area at the 2021 United Kingdom census, ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

. He attended King Edward VII School, Lytham, now part of

King Edward VII and Queen Mary School King Edward VII and Queen Mary School (KEQMS) was an Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference, HMC independent co-educational school in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, England, formed in 2000 by the merger of King Edward VII School, Lytham, Kin ...

, then went on to study physics (BSc Hons 1961) and earned a PhD (1965) in metallurgy, both at the

University of Liverpool The University of Liverpool (abbreviated UOL) is a Public university, public research university in Liverpool, England. Founded in 1881 as University College Liverpool, Victoria University (United Kingdom), Victoria University, it received Ro ...

Career

Prior to his retirement, he worked as a mathematical scientist for the English

nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced by ...

industry. He was a consultant statistician to the

International Cricket Council The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the global Sports governing body, governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from Australia, England, and South Africa. In 1965, the body wa ...

, and the editor of the

Royal Statistical Society The Royal Statistical Society (RSS) is an established statistical society. It has three main roles: a British learned society for statistics, a professional body for statisticians and a charity which promotes statistics for the public good. ...

's monthly news magazine, ''RSS News'', until he retired from both these roles in 2014. He also served on the editorial board of '' Significance'' before stepping down in 2010. In 2004 he delivered the Royal Statistical Society Schools Lecture, entitled ''Lies and Statistics''. In 1962, Duckworth was a tenant of

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

's aunt. Duckworth is also known for developing a system of quantifying personal

risk perception Risk perception is the subjective judgement that people make about the characteristics and severity of a risk. Risk perceptions often differ from statistical assessments of risk since they are affected by a wide range of affective (emotions, feel ...

, now known as the "Duckworth scale".

Death

Duckworth died of cancer on 21 June 2024, at the age of 84.

Awards and recognition

Duckworth was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the

2010 Birthday Honours The 2010 Birthday Honours for the Commonwealth realms were announced to celebrate the Queen's Birthday on 7 June 2010 in New Zealand, on 12 June 2010 in the United Kingdom, The Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Sai ...

for services to the Royal Statistical Society and to Cricket.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duckworth, Frank 1939 births 2024 deaths Limited overs cricket Alumni of the University of Liverpool English statisticians Members of the Order of the British Empire People from Lytham St Annes