ISI - Progressive Era statistician, First woman ASA Fellow

Authored and presented by Penny Reynolds
Sponsored by The ASA History of Statistics Interest Group, The Caucus for Women in Statistics and Data Science, and the ISI Committee on Women in Statistics.

In its first century the American Statistical Association elected only one woman as Fellow. Kate Claghorn (1863-1938) was a Progressive Era scholar, suffragist, civil rights activist, social welfare reformer, and statistical educator. At a time when "statistics" was in its infancy, she was an early adopter of mixed methods research, introducing new standards of rigor to the evaluation of quantitative evidence related to immigration, criminal law, and housing reform. Although familiar with the 'new' statistical tools of variation and probability, Claghorn instead prioritised methodology that fostered collection of rigorous and reliable data. She was a fearlessly original thinker, unafraid to go against the eugenics-dominated thinking supported by the majority of ASA leadership. She was also extremely adept in using the new social media outlets of the day to expose poor policy decisions and advocate for evidence-based reforms. However, at her death, ASA leadership said nothing about her remarkable achievements, referring only to her "long and devoted service” on ASA committees. The story of Kate Claghorn could be seen as one more example of the minimisation of the methodological innovations, intellect, and even courage of women during the early institutional history of ASA. However, it also shows Claghorn to be a foundational figure in the development of a vision of statistical practice that is grounded in rigor, responsibility, and public good.