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Cyril Harold Goulden
Honorary Member
1981

Cyril Harold GOULDEN, 1897-1981

By electing Cyril Harold Goulden an Honorary Member in 1981, the Statistical Society of Canada just missed being able to communicate this to him while he was still alive — Dr. Goulden died in Ottawa on February 4, 1981. He was 83.

Cyril Goulden came to Canada from Wales at the age of 7. He received his schooling and undergraduate education in Saskatchewan. At the University of Saskatchewan he won the award for the highest academic standing and received a travelling scholarship on the strength of which he went to the University of Minnesota for post-graduate study. The new Ph.D. at age 27 was appointed Head of the Cereal Breeding Section of the Dominion Rust Research Laboratory in Winnipeg.

Dr. Goulden’s great contribution to western agriculture was made during his 23 years with this institute. He and his associates were successful in overcoming the rust fungus, a serious threat to Canada’s grain production. Many disease-resistant strains of cereals were developed for commercial production and the research associated with these accomplishments gained him international acclaim. The importance of this work can be measured in hundreds of millions of dollars. And as a result, Canada’s place was assured as one of the major grain producers of the world.

Like many other pioneers of statistics of the period, Dr. Goulden came to our science via genetics and the substantive need to design and evaluate agricultural experiments. He was certainly one of the handful of early Canadian leaders of statistics with a world-wide reputation. His 1939 book Methods of Statistical Analysis (Second Edition, 1952, vi + 467 pp.) became one of the earliest Wiley textbooks in statistics. It became a standard reference in Canada and the USA and was translated into many languages.

Dr. Goulden also had a brilliant career in the public service. In 1955 he became Director of the Experimental Farms system and in 1959 was appointed the first head of the newly formed Research Branch of the Canada Department of Agriculture with the rank of Assistant Deputy Minister. He retired in 1962 but continued to be active for several more years. He designed several of the exhibits for “Man the Provider” at Expo 67.

Not surprisingly, many honours were conferred on Dr. Goulden for his outstanding achievements. In 1953 he was awarded the gold medal of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada. In 1954 he received an LLD by the University of Saskatchewan and in 1964 a Doctor of Science degree by The University of Manitoba. In 1980, he was named to the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame. He was president of the Agricultural Institute of Canada (1955-56) and of the Biometric Society (1958). He was also a Fellow of the Biometric Society.

Ivan P. Fellegi, 1983