Biographical entry Belz, Maurice Henry (1897 - 1975)

Summary

Maurice Henry Belz headed the first autonomous department of statistics in Australia at the University of Melbourne (1948) and was the foundation Professor of Statistics there (1955-1963). Many of the initial generation of Australia's professional statisticians were either trained or taught in Belz's department, which ran a course for graduates from science and industry.

Details

Born Auburn, New South Wales, 1 February 1897. Died Melbourne, 28 March 1975. Educated Universities of Sydney (BSc 1918) and Cambridge (MSc 1922). Lecturer in mathematics, University of Melbourne 1923-28; senior lecturer 1928-32; research into the application of mathematics to economics, London School of Economics and University of Oslo 1933-36; senior lecturer in mathematical economics, faculty of commerce, University of Melbourne 1937-47; associate professor of mathematical statistics 1948-54; professor of statistics 1955-63. President, French-Australian Association of Victoria 1944-70. Légion d'honneur 1954.

Archival resources

The University of Melbourne Archives

• Maurice Henry Belz - Records, 1914 - 1975; The University of Melbourne Archives. Details

Published resources

Book Sections

• Laby, Betty, 'Belz, Maurice Henry (1897-1975), Mathematical Statistician', in John Ritchie (ed.), Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 13, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1993, pp. 160-161. Also available at http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A130189b.htm. Details

Journal Articles

• 'Obituary: Maurice H. Belz (1897-1975)', Australian Journal of Statistics, vol. 17, no. 1, 1975, pp. 56-57. Details

Online Resources

• 'Belz, Maurice Henry', in Physics in Australia to 1945, R.W. Home, with the assistance of Paula J. Needham, Australian Science Archives Project, June 1995, http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/physics/P000222p.htm. Details
• National Library of Australia, 'Belz, Maurice Henry', Trove, National Library of Australia and the Australian National Maritime Museum Darling Harbour, 2009, http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1465469. Details