J. W. Hopkins

Not to be confused with John W. Hopkins.

John William Hopkins (1908–1989, published as J. W. Hopkins) was a Canadian bioscientist and statistician who worked for many years for the National Research Council Canada.^[1]

Education and career

Hopkins initially studied the biochemistry of cereals, especially focusing on rust-resistant wheat. He obtained a master's degree in 1931 from the University of Alberta,^[1] with the thesis Gluten quality and the effect of dilution of wheat flours with starch.^[2]

His interest in statistics was attracted by a 1925 book by Ronald Fisher, Statistical Methods for Research Workers.^[1] He worked for two years in England as a statistician at Rothamsted Research under Fisher, while also holding a position with the National Research Council Canada as a research assistant and junior research biologist for grain research.^[3] In 1933, Fisher moved from Rothamsted to University College London to head a new Department of Eugenics,^[4] and in 1934 Hopkins completed a Ph.D. there.^[1]

Subsequently, in Canada at the National Research Council, he established a laboratory for biometrics. During World War II, he worked on operations research for the Royal Canadian Air Force.^[1] When the International Biometric Society was founded in 1947, he became its first treasurer.^[5] He retired in 1973.^[1]

Recognition

Hopkins was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his wartime service.^[1]

He was elected as a Fellow of the American Statistical Association, in the 1948 class of fellows.^[6] He was also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (FRSC), a Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society (FRSS), and an Elected Member of the International Statistical Institute. In 1981, the Statistical Society of Canada named him as an honorary member.^[1]

He was one of the inaugural recipients of the Centenary Medal of the Royal Society of Canada, in 1982.^[7]