noted for his co–authorship of the 1950 paper introducing the Durbin–Watson statistic. Durbin's mathematical studies at Cambridge U were interrupted by the Second World War, during which he did simple statistical work. On his return to Cambridge U he concentrated on statistics, researching in econometric models. His subsequent career was spent on the faculty at LSE. He was one of three individuals (with Armitage and Plackett) to have been awarded all three of the Guy Medals of the RSS (Bronze, 1966; Silver, 1976; Gold, 2008). He was President of that Society in 1986, having been President of the International Statistical Institute (ISI) in 1983. He was elected an Honorary Life Member of the ISI in 1999 and a Fellow of the British Academy in 2001.

http://www.isi-web.org/component/content/article/29-membership/membership/584-2012-james-durbin Obituary and photograph.