Peter Nemenyi
Encyclopedia
Peter Björn Nemenyi was an American statistician
and civil-rights activist of Jewish Hungarian
descent. He was the son of Paul Nemenyi
one of the most eminent hydrologists of the twentieth century. His mother was Aranka Heller, poet and scholar, daughter of Bernat Heller, renown 'Aggadist, Islamic scholar and folklorist.
Peter Nemenyi was born in Berlin, to which his parents had fled after the rise of fascism in Hungary
. His parents separated, and he was brought up in a socialist boarding school operated by the ISK
, a German socialist party founded by Leonard Nelson
.
After the rise of Nazism
, the party was banned in Germany and its property was seized. The school frequently relocated to different European countries, as Nazi strength grew. During the Second World War the adults in the party were interned on the Isle of Man
and Nemenyi lived in a number of foster homes and youth homes.
After the war, Peter moved to the United States
to live with his father in Hanford, Washington
.
He was drafted almost immediately and served near Trieste
.
After military service, he attended Black Mountain College
under the G.I. Bill.
He received his Ph.D. from Princeton University
with a thesis on Distribution-Free Multiple Comparisons advised by John Wilder Tukey. Several statistical tests, most notably the Nemenyi test
bear his name.
Peter Nemenyi is also known as a civil-rights activist in the Deep South. He also worked for the revolutionary government in Nicaragua, which affected his health.
He was an active member of the Congress of Racial Equality
in New York, working in Mississippi in 1962, in Jackson, and 1964-5 in Laurel. Paul Nemenyi is said, in FBI reports, to have been the father of Bobby Fischer
, and he contributed to his support. Paul Nemenyi left Fisher half his small estate, which Peter put into a savings account, giving the papers to Fisher's mother (according to Joseph Kruskal
[wqo theory] fellow graduate student and housemate at time). Peter made efforts to care for Fischer as well.
Statistics
Statistics is the study of the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of data. It deals with all aspects of this, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments....
and civil-rights activist of Jewish Hungarian
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
descent. He was the son of Paul Nemenyi
Paul Nemenyi
Paul Felix Nemenyi was a Jewish Hungarian physicist and mathematician specializing in fluid dynamics...
one of the most eminent hydrologists of the twentieth century. His mother was Aranka Heller, poet and scholar, daughter of Bernat Heller, renown 'Aggadist, Islamic scholar and folklorist.
Peter Nemenyi was born in Berlin, to which his parents had fled after the rise of fascism in Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
. His parents separated, and he was brought up in a socialist boarding school operated by the ISK
Internationaler Sozialistischer Kampfbund
The Internationaler Sozialistischer Kampfbund was a socialist split-off from the SPD during the Weimar Republic and was active in the German Resistance against Nazism.- History :...
, a German socialist party founded by Leonard Nelson
Leonard Nelson
Leonard Nelson was a German mathematician and philosopher. He was part of the Neo-Friesian School and a friend of the mathematician David Hilbert, and devised the Grelling–Nelson paradox with Kurt Grelling...
.
After the rise of Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
, the party was banned in Germany and its property was seized. The school frequently relocated to different European countries, as Nazi strength grew. During the Second World War the adults in the party were interned on the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
and Nemenyi lived in a number of foster homes and youth homes.
After the war, Peter moved to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to live with his father in Hanford, Washington
Hanford, Washington
Hanford was a small agricultural community in Benton County, Washington, United States. It was evacuated in 1943 along with the town of White Bluffs in order to make room for the nuclear production facility known as the Hanford Site...
.
He was drafted almost immediately and served near Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
.
After military service, he attended Black Mountain College
Black Mountain College
Black Mountain College, a school founded in 1933 in Black Mountain, North Carolina, was a new kind of college in the United States in which the study of art was seen to be central to a liberal arts education, and in which John Dewey's principles of education played a major role...
under the G.I. Bill.
He received his Ph.D. from Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
with a thesis on Distribution-Free Multiple Comparisons advised by John Wilder Tukey. Several statistical tests, most notably the Nemenyi test
Nemenyi test
In statistics, the Nemenyi test is a post-hoc test intended to find the groups of data that differ after a statistical test of multiple comparisons has rejected the null hypothesis that the performance of the comparisons on the groups of data is similar...
bear his name.
Peter Nemenyi is also known as a civil-rights activist in the Deep South. He also worked for the revolutionary government in Nicaragua, which affected his health.
He was an active member of the Congress of Racial Equality
Congress of Racial Equality
The Congress of Racial Equality or CORE was a U.S. civil rights organization that originally played a pivotal role for African-Americans in the Civil Rights Movement...
in New York, working in Mississippi in 1962, in Jackson, and 1964-5 in Laurel. Paul Nemenyi is said, in FBI reports, to have been the father of Bobby Fischer
Bobby Fischer
Robert James "Bobby" Fischer was an American chess Grandmaster and the 11th World Chess Champion. He is widely considered one of the greatest chess players of all time. Fischer was also a best-selling chess author...
, and he contributed to his support. Paul Nemenyi left Fisher half his small estate, which Peter put into a savings account, giving the papers to Fisher's mother (according to Joseph Kruskal
Joseph Kruskal
Joseph Bernard Kruskal, Jr. was an American mathematician, statistician, computer scientist and psychometrician. He was a student at the University of Chicago and at Princeton University, where he completed his Ph.D. in 1954, nominally under Albert W...
[wqo theory] fellow graduate student and housemate at time). Peter made efforts to care for Fischer as well.
Publications
- Peter Nemenyi: Distribution-free multiple comparisons, Docotoral Thesis, Princeton University, 1963.
- Peter Nemenyi and Sylvia K. Dixon: Statistics from Scratch. Holden-Day Series in Probability and Statistics, 1977. ISBN 978-0816263844