Gertrude Mary Cox

After graduating from high school in 1918, Cox initially worked to become a Deaconess in the Methodist Church. By 1925 however she decided to attend Iowa State College (now Iowa State University) where she earned both a bachelor's and a master's degree in statistics. She continued her studies for two years at the University of California in Berkeley, then returned to Iowa State to work on the design of experiments in the statistical laboratory. She was appointed an Associate Professor of Statistics in 1939,

In 1940 Cox was named the founding Professor of Statistics at North Carolina State University. Not only did she found the department at North Carolina State University, she was the first woman to receive a professional appointment at the University. She was also the founding editor of Biometics, the journal of the International Biometric Society.

Cox was instrumental in founding the Research Triangle Institute in North Carolina. The Research Triangle is today widely recognized as a major research center and an engine for economic and technology development.

Cox authored, with William Cochran, a now classic tex on experimental design. She served as president of the American Statistical Association, the International Biometric Society and was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1975. She was also a fellow of the Royal Statistical Society, the American Statistical Society and the Institute of Mathematical Statistics.

The Department of Statistics at North Carolina State University is housed in a building named in her honor. North Carolina State University maintains a website in her honor.

Born: 13 Jan 1900 in Dayton, Iowa, USA
Died: 17 Oct 1978 in Durham, North Carolina, USA