Richard von Mises

This article is about the statistician. Not to be confused with his brother, Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises.
Richard von Mises
Born19 April 1883
Lemberg, Austria-Hungary
Died14 July 1953(1953-07-14) (aged 70)
Boston, Massachusetts, US
EducationVienna University of Technology
Known forvon Mises distribution
Von Mises transformation
Von Mises statistic
Bernstein–von Mises theorem
Cramér–von Mises criterion
von Mises yield criterion
Von Mises–Fisher distribution
Random sequence
Sample space
V-statistic
SpouseHilda Geiringer
RelativesLudwig von Mises (brother)
Scientific career
FieldsSolid mechanics, fluid mechanics, aerodynamics, aeronautics, statistics and probability theory
InstitutionsBrno University of Technology
University of Strasbourg
TU Dresden
Humboldt University of Berlin
University of Istanbul
Harvard University
Doctoral advisorGeorg Hamel
Doctoral studentsGeoffrey S. S. Ludford
Stefan Bergman
Hermine Agavni Kalustyan

Richard Martin Edler von Mises[1] (German: [fɔn ˈmiːzəs]; 19 April 1883 – 14 July 1953) was an Austrian scientist and mathematician who worked on solid mechanics, fluid mechanics, aerodynamics, aeronautics, statistics and probability theory. He held the position of Gordon McKay Professor of Aerodynamics and Applied Mathematics at Harvard University. He described his work in his own words shortly before his death as:

practical analysis, integral and differential equations, mechanics, hydrodynamics and aerodynamics, constructive geometry, probability calculus, statistics and philosophy.[2]

Although best known for his mathematical work, von Mises also contributed to the philosophy of science as a neo-positivist and empiricist, following the line of Ernst Mach. Historians of the Vienna Circle of logical empiricism recognize a "first phase" from 1907 through 1914 with Philipp Frank, Hans Hahn, and Otto Neurath.[citation needed][3] His older brother, Ludwig von Mises, held an opposite point of view with respect to positivism and epistemology. His brother developed praxeology, an a priori view.[4]

During his time in Istanbul, Mises maintained close contact with Philipp Frank,[5] a logical positivist and Professor of Physics in Prague until 1938. His literary interests included the Austrian novelist Robert Musil and the poet Rainer Maria Rilke, on whom he became a recognized expert.[6]

  1. ^ Regarding personal names: Edler was a title before 1919, but now is regarded as part of the surname. It is translated as a noble (one). Before the August 1919 abolition of nobility as a legal class, titles preceded the full name when given (Graf Helmuth James von Moltke). Since 1919, these titles, along with any nobiliary prefix (von, zu, etc.), can be used, but are regarded as a dependent part of the surname, and thus come after any given names (Helmuth James Graf von Moltke). Titles and all dependent parts of surnames are ignored in alphabetical sorting. The feminine form is Edle.
  2. ^ Norman L. Johnson; Samuel Kotz (26 September 2011). Leading Personalities in Statistical Sciences: From the Seventeenth Century to the Present. John Wiley & Sons. p. 385. ISBN 978-1-118-15072-6.
  3. ^ Stadler, Friedrich (2003). The Vienna Circle and Logical Empiricism: Re-Evaluation and Future Perspectives. New York, Boston, Dordrecht, London, Moscow: Kluwer Academic Publishers. pp. XIII. ISBN 978-0-306-48214-4.
  4. ^ kanopiadmin (15 December 2004). "Ludwig von Mises: A Scholar Who Would Not Compromise - Fritz Machlup".
  5. ^ Frank, P (11 June 1954), "The Work of Richard von Mises: 1883–1953.", Science, vol. 119, no. 3102, pp. 823–824, Bibcode:1954Sci...119..823F, doi:10.1126/science.119.3102.823, PMID 17746140
  6. ^ O'Connor, J. J.; Robertson, E. F. (10 April 1016). "Richard von Mises". Mactutor Archive - School of Mathematics and Statistics University of St Andrews, Scotland. JOC/EFR. Retrieved 25 July 2016.