Donald Bentley Explained

Donald Lyon Bentley is an American statistician and mathematician. A doctoral student of biostatistician Rupert Griel Miller at the Stanford University School of Humanities and Sciences,[1] Bentley graduated with a Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Mathematics and Statistics in 1962.[1] [2] He then taught at the Mathematics and Statistics Department of Pomona College in Claremont, California from 1964 to 2001, becoming Lingurn H. Burkhead Professor of Mathematics,[3] an endowed chair, before retiring to become a professor emeritus.[4] He was also president of the Southern California Chapter of the American Statistical Association from 1987 to 1988,[5] and was named a Fellow of the American Statistical Association in 1990.[6]

Bentley is known locally for his role in creating Pomona College's tradition of revering the number 47.[3] [7] It began in the summer of 1964,[8] when two students, Laurie Mets and Bruce Elgin, conducted a research project seeking to find out whether the number occurs more often in nature than would be expected by chance. They documented various 47 sightings, and Bentley produced a false mathematical proof that 47 was equal to all other integers. The number became a meme among the class, which spread once the academic year began and snowballed over time.[9] Many Pomona alumni have since deliberately inserted 47 references into their work.[10] In the early 2010s, the college's clock tower would chime on the 47th minute of the hour.[11]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Donald Lyon Bentley. statistics.stanford.edu. 2024-10-04.
  2. Web site: Contributions to counter theory with applications to rod vision. searchworks.stanford.edu. 2024-10-04.
  3. https://web.archive.org/web/20121205084221/http://www.pomona.edu/Magazine/PCMfl00/1.shtml. 2012-12-05. The Mystery of 47. dead. Pomona College Magazine. Fall 2000. 37. 1. Sarah. Dolinar.
  4. Web site: Donald Bentley . Pomona College . 30 November 2021 . en.
  5. Web site: List of Presidents of the Southern California Chapter of the American Statistical Association. American Statistical Association. 2024-10-04.
  6. Web site: ASA Fellows. American Statistical Association. 2024-10-04.
  7. Kendall . Mark . D.B. and That Number . 14 September 2022 . Pomona College Magazine . 49 . 1 . November 14, 2012.
  8. Web site: 1964 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200807012720/https://www.pomona.edu/timeline/1960s/1964 . August 7, 2020 . 7 April 2020 . Pomona College Timeline . Pomona College . en.
  9. Spring 2015 . The Mystery of 47 . en . Pomona College Magazine . 7 April 2020.
  10. News: Lipka . Sara . 11 February 2005 . Pomona's Prime Number . en . . live . registration . 7 April 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201029133958/https://www.chronicle.com/article/pomonas-prime-number/ . October 29, 2020.
  11. News: Rowan . Brendan . November 5, 2010 . Clock Tower Bell Set to Chime On the 47th Minute . en . . live . 7 April 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190731055431/https://tsl.news/news1684/ . July 31, 2019.

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