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Maurice Quenouille

Maurice Quenouille is a mathematics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Maurice Quenouille rather than just read about it. In short: Prof Maurice Henry Quenouille FRSE FRSS (1924 – 12 December 1973) was a 20th-century British statistician remembered as the creator of Jackknife resampling. He is also the designer of the Quenouille test in time series analysis, a statistical method used to assess whether residuals exhibit white noise behavior.

Key takeaways

  • Maurice Quenouille belongs to mathematics; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect Maurice Quenouille to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of Maurice Quenouille from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Prof Maurice Henry Quenouille FRSE FRSS (1924 – 12 December 1973) was a 20th-century British statistician remembered as the creator of Jackknife resampling. He is also the designer of the Quenouille test in time series analysis, a statistical method used to assess whether residuals exhibit white noise behavior.

Biography The unusual surname is French in origin, meaning "distaff". The surname has transposed to Kenoly (its approximate pronunciation) in most English-speaking countries. He was born in north London on 9 October 1924 of French ancestry. He was educated at Latymer School and St Paul's School, London. He then studied Mathematics at Jesus College, Cambridge, graduating BA around 1945. Here he had met Prof Ronald Fisher who convinced him of the importance between statistics and the objective of resolving actual rather than theoretical scientific problems. He therefore went to work at the Rothamsted Experimental Station. In 1947 he began lecturing in Statistics at Aberdeen University. In 1949 Cambridge awarded him an MA degree. In 1952 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh aged only 28. His proposers were Reginald Victor Jones, William Ogilvy Kermack, David Cuthbertson and Alexander Aitken. He obtained a further MA Degree from Oxford University in 1953 and joined the Institute of Statistics in Oxford where he stayed until 1955. In 1955 he moved to the London School of Economics as a lecturer and in 1964 to Imperial College, London. He had received a doctorate (DSc) from Cambridge in 1960. In 1965 he received the chair in Statistics at Southampton University and remained there until his premature death. He died on holiday in Portugal on 12 December 1973 aged only 49. His position at Southampton University was filled by Prof T. M. F. Smith.

Publications Quenouille, M. H. (1951). "Statistical studies of recorded energy expenditure in man". OCLC 4146398. Quenouille, M. H. (1965). Fundamentals of Statistical Reasoning. London: Griffin. ISBN 978-0-85-264002-9. OCLC 911748833. Quenouille, M. H. (1966). Introductory statistics. Oxford: Pergamon Press. ISBN 978-0-08-013783-4. OCLC 779769987. Quenouille, M. H. (1968). The analysis of multiple time-series (2nd ed.). London: Griffin. ISBN 0-85264-130-3. OCLC 29574738. Quenouille, M. H. (1972). Rapid statistical calculations : a collection of distribution-free and easy methods of estimation and testing (2nd ed.). London: Griffin. ISBN 0-85264-214-8. OCLC 5621827. John, J. A.; Quenouille, M. H. (1977). Experiments, design, and analysis (2nd ed.). London: Griffin. ISBN 0-85264-222-9. OCLC 4077098.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Maurice Quenouille

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Maurice Quenouille claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In mathematics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Maurice Quenouille before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Maurice Quenouille ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Maurice Quenouille

In research
Maurice Quenouille appears in mathematics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses Maurice Quenouille in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
Maurice Quenouille is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1924 births, 1973 deaths, 20th-century British statisticians, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Maurice Quenouille outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.
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How to study Maurice Quenouille in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Maurice Quenouille means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Maurice Quenouille out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Maurice Quenouille in simple terms?

Prof Maurice Henry Quenouille FRSE FRSS (1924 – 12 December 1973) was a 20th-century British statistician remembered as the creator of Jackknife resampling. He is also the designer of the Quenouille test in time series analysis, a statistical method used to assess whether residuals exhibit white no…

Why does Maurice Quenouille matter?

Because it connects several mathematics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Maurice Quenouille?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Maurice Quenouille.

Tags

  • 1924 births
  • 1973 deaths
  • 20th-century British statisticians
  • Academics of the University of Southampton
  • Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge
  • Alumni of the University of Oxford
  • British mathematical statisticians
  • Computational statisticians
  • English scientist stubs
  • Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
  • Mathematicians from London
  • Rothamsted statisticians

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