Gosset, William Sealy

William Sealy Gosset (1873-1937)

William Sealy Gosset was born in 1873 of Huguenot extraction. He was educated at Winchester and New College Oxford and was a graduate in natural science and mathematics. In 1899 he was appointed as a brewer in Guinness (Dublin). At this time the brewery had expanded and were adopting a more scientific approach to quality control.

In 1906 Gosset studied statistics in London and in 1908 he published his paper 'The Probable Error of a Mean', his most famous paper, under the pseudonym 'Student'. Guinness employees were not allowed to publish under their own names.