Gertrude Mary Cox (1900-1978)

Gertrude Mary Cox grew up in Perry, Iowa and was very close to her mother who spent her life caring for others. From the time Cox graduated high school, she was a Methodist missionary for almost seven years. She decided to apply for another missionary position, but in order to do so, she needed a university education. She majored in mathematics at Iowa State College and worked for her calculus professor, George Snedecor as a computer (someone who did computations by hand) to help pay for her studies. The work experience likely helped her to decide to pursue a master's degree in statistics. The Mathematics Department at the time would not give assistantships to women, so she found an assistantship in psychology and art to pay for her graduate degree.

After earning the first master's degree in statistics awarded at Iowa State in 1931, Cox began working on a doctorate in psychological statistics at the University of California, Berkeley. In 1933, she returned to Iowa State to help Snedecor establish the Statistical Laboratory and teach courses on experimental design. The president of North Carolina State University reached out to Snedecor in 1940 and asked for a list of the ten best men to head their new statistics department. He came up with a list and asked Cox for input. After looking it over, she asked him, What about me?. He then added this line to his recommendation, These are the ten best men I can think of. But, if you want the best person, I would recommend Gertrude Cox (Salsburg, 2001, pp. 199-200). She was chosen and built such a successful department of applied statistics that the University of North Carolina also established a mathematical statistics department. Today, North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina, and Duke University form the Research Triangle Institute for statistical research.

Cox was a talented statistician. Her major contributions include her exceptional administration in statistics programs. She helped found the International Biometric Society in 1947 and served as the first editor of its journal, Biometrics. She was also the president of the society from 1968 to 1969. Additionally, in 1956, she was the president of the American Statistical Association.

She paved the path for others by being the first woman to achieve many of her accomplishments, including many of the positions she held. She was honored with a scholarship created in her name established by the Caucus for Women in Statistics. Her legacy lives in the accolades she received, but those who knew her personally will remember her more for the interest she took in them and their families and her generosity.