All Topics  
Abraham Wald

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Abraham Wald
 
 
  Topics Abraham Wald Topic Home

Abraham Wald was a mathematician born in Kolozsvár
Cluj-Napoca

, until 1974 Cluj, is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Cluj County in north-western Transylvania. Geographically, it is roughly equally distant from Bucharest , Budapest and Belgrade ....
, Hungary
Hungary

Hungary , officially in English the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia....
 (now Cluj
Cluj-Napoca

, until 1974 Cluj, is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Cluj County in north-western Transylvania. Geographically, it is roughly equally distant from Bucharest , Budapest and Belgrade ....
, Romania
Romania

Romania is a country located in Southeastern Europe Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian Mountains, bordering on the Black Sea....
) who contributed to decision theory
Decision theory

Decision theory in mathematics and statistics is concerned with identifying the values, uncertainty and other issues relevant in a given decision making and the resulting optimal decision....
, geometry
Geometry

Geometry arose as the field of knowledge dealing with spatial relationships. Geometry was one of the two fields of pre-modern mathematics, the other being the study of numbers....
, and econometrics
Econometrics

Econometrics is concerned with the tasks of developing and applying quantitative or statistical methods to the study and elucidation of economic principles....
, and founded the field of statistical sequential analysis
Sequential analysis

In statistics, sequential analysis or sequential hypothesis testing is statistical analysis where the sample size is not fixed in advance....
.

Being a religious Jew, he could not attend school on Saturdays, as was required at the time by the Hungarian school system, and was thus home-schooled by his parents until college. Fortunately, his parents were quite knowledgeable and competent as teachers.

In 1927, he entered graduate school at the University of Vienna
University of Vienna

The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. Having opened in 1365, it is one of the oldest universities in Europe....
, from which he graduated in 1931 with a Ph.D.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Abraham Wald'
Start a new discussion about 'Abraham Wald'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Abraham Wald was a mathematician born in Kolozsvár
Cluj-Napoca

, until 1974 Cluj, is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Cluj County in north-western Transylvania. Geographically, it is roughly equally distant from Bucharest , Budapest and Belgrade ....
, Hungary
Hungary

Hungary , officially in English the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia....
 (now Cluj
Cluj-Napoca

, until 1974 Cluj, is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Cluj County in north-western Transylvania. Geographically, it is roughly equally distant from Bucharest , Budapest and Belgrade ....
, Romania
Romania

Romania is a country located in Southeastern Europe Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian Mountains, bordering on the Black Sea....
) who contributed to decision theory
Decision theory

Decision theory in mathematics and statistics is concerned with identifying the values, uncertainty and other issues relevant in a given decision making and the resulting optimal decision....
, geometry
Geometry

Geometry arose as the field of knowledge dealing with spatial relationships. Geometry was one of the two fields of pre-modern mathematics, the other being the study of numbers....
, and econometrics
Econometrics

Econometrics is concerned with the tasks of developing and applying quantitative or statistical methods to the study and elucidation of economic principles....
, and founded the field of statistical sequential analysis
Sequential analysis

In statistics, sequential analysis or sequential hypothesis testing is statistical analysis where the sample size is not fixed in advance....
.

Being a religious Jew, he could not attend school on Saturdays, as was required at the time by the Hungarian school system, and was thus home-schooled by his parents until college. Fortunately, his parents were quite knowledgeable and competent as teachers.

In 1927, he entered graduate school at the University of Vienna
University of Vienna

The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. Having opened in 1365, it is one of the oldest universities in Europe....
, from which he graduated in 1931 with a Ph.D. in mathematics. His advisor there was Karl Menger
Karl Menger

Karl Menger was a mathematician of great scope and depth. He was the son of the famous economist Carl Menger. He is credited with Menger's theorem....
.

When the Nazis
Nazism

Nazism, officially National Socialism , refers to the ideology and practices of the National Socialist German Workers? Party under Adolf Hitler, and the policies adopted by the dictatorial government of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945....
 invaded Austria
Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west....
 in 1938, he and his family were persecuted as Jews. He was able to emigrate to the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, at the invitation of the Cowles Commission for Research in Economics, to work on econometrics research.

He and his wife died in an airplane crash in the Nilgiri mountains
Nilgiris (mountains)

The Nilgiri , often referred to as the Nilgiri Hills, are a range of mountains with at least 24 peaks above , in the westernmost part of Tamil Nadu at the junction of Karnataka and Kerala states in Southern India....
 while on an extensive lecture tour at the invitation of the Indian government.

Notable publications


For a complete list, see

See also

  • Sequential probability ratio test
    Sequential probability ratio test

    The sequential probability ratio test is a specific Sequential analysis, developed by Abraham Wald. Neyman-Pearson lemma inspired Wald to reformulate it as a sequential analysis problem....
     (SPRT)
  • Wald distribution


Further reading