Frank Albert Benford Jr. | |
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| Born | May 29, 1883 |
| Died | December 4, 1948 (aged 65) |
| Alma mater | University of Michigan |
| Known for | Benford's Law |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Electrical Engineering Physics |
| Institutions | General Electric |
Frank Albert Benford Jr. (July 10, 1883[1] – December 4, 1948[2]) was an American electrical engineer and physicist best known for rediscovering and generalizing Benford's Law, an earlier statistical statement by Simon Newcomb, about the occurrence of digits in lists of data.[3]
Benford is also known for having devised, in 1937, an instrument for measuring the refractive index of glass.[1] An expert in optical measurements, he published 109 papers in the fields of optics and mathematics and was granted 20 patents on optical devices.
- ^ a b The Michigan Alumnus. Vol. 46. UM Libraries. 1939. p. 81.
- ^ "Funeral Services to be held today for Frank Benford". Schenectady Gazette. 7 Dec 1948. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
- ^ Frank Benford (March 1938). "The law of anomalous numbers". Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. 78 (4): 551–572. Bibcode:1938PAPhS..78..551B. JSTOR 984802.(subscription required)