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John Koren

John Koren (1861–1923)[1] was an American clergyman and statistician.

Education and career

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John Koren was born in Iowa as one of nine children of the Norwegian-American church leader Ulrik Vilhelm Koren.[1] He was an 1879 graduate of Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, and an 1882 graduate of Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri, with a degree in divinity.[2] Most of his later life, he spent in public service as a government employee for the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Bureau of the Census, and the City of Boston's statistics department.[2]

As a statistician, Koren's interests lay in social welfare and the description of societal problems, e.g. prison inhabitants,[3] crimes,[4] and alcoholism.[5]

Koren served as president of the American Statistical Association in 1913–14.[6] To commemorate the 75th anniversary of this association in 1914, he edited a book about the history of official statistics in various countries. The volume was delayed due to World War I and was finally published in 1918.[7]

In 1923, shortly before his death, Koren completed a concise history of the City of Boston, Massachusetts, at the occasion of the centennial celebration of the city.[8] He committed suicide by jumping overboard the Holland-America liner Nieuw Amsterdam.[9]

Recognition

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He was named a Fellow of the American Statistical Association in 1914.

References

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  1. ^ a b Christianson, John Robert (2008). "Koren, Ulrik Vilhelm". The Biographical Dictionary of Iowa. University of Iowa Press. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
  2. ^ a b Hatheway, Allen W.; Speight, Thomas B. (2018). "4.3.4 John Koren and the Early History of Gas Lighting in Boston". Manufactured Gas Plant Remediation: A Case Study. CRC Press. ISBN 9781498796835.
  3. ^ Koren, John (1907). Prisoners and Juvenile Delinquents in Institutions 1904. U.S. Bureau of the Census. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
  4. ^ Koren, John (1914). "Crime - From a Statistical Viewpoint". The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. 52 (1): 83–88. doi:10.1177/000271621405200109. S2CID 143662344.
  5. ^ Koren, John (1916). Alcohol and society. Henry Holt and Company. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
  6. ^ Spreadsheet with list of ASA presidents, American Statistical Association, retrieved 2021-05-25
  7. ^ Koren, John, ed. (1918). The History of Statistics, their Development and Progress in Many Countries. Macmillan Company. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
  8. ^ Koren, John (1923). Boston, 1822 to 1922. The Story of Its Government and Principal Activities During One Hundred Years. City of Boston printing department. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
  9. ^ "Leaps off Liner to Death in Sea; Passengers See Suicide of John Koren of International Prison Commission". The New York Times. 1923-11-18. Retrieved 2021-05-25.