Margaret Gurney

Margaret Gurney (October 28, 1908 – March 19, 2002) was an American mathematician, statistician, and computer programmer. Originally trained in the mathematical study of partial differential equations at Swarthmore College, Brown University, and the University of Göttingen, she came to work for the United States Census Bureau. There, she became known for her expertise in sampling, stratified sampling, and survey methodology. At the Census Bureau she also worked as an early programmer of the UNIVAC I computer. Later, she became an international consultant, teaching statistical methods in developing countries.^[1] She won the Department of Commerce Silver Medal and was recognized as a Fellow of the American Statistical Association.^[2]