title: 'A memorandum on the Present Position and Prospects of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology' by Major Greenwood.
abstract: We present an unpublished, possibly unsent, memorandum written by Major Greenwood in 1928 that is of historical importance. It raises three issues, namely, the profile of medical statistics in 1928, the development of mathematical statistics in the U.K., and the staffing of his own department. Some of these issues are still relevant today. We discuss each of them against the historical background of the first quarter of the 20th century. Some additional biographical details relevant to the understanding of the memorandum are provided in an Appendix.
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council Biostatistics Unit, University of Cambridge Institute of Public Health, Cambridge, UK. vern.farewell@mrc-bsu.cam.ac.uk
authors.forename: Vern
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Farewell
authors.forename: Tony
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Armitage
mesh_terms: D004813:Epidemiology / Q000266:history*; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D011634:Public Health / Q000266:history*; D013223:Statistics as Topic / Q000266:history*; D006113:United Kingdom