A view of Harald Cramér: Working with the master in his later years

Abstract

Abstract This paper is based on a talk given at the Centenary Meeting for Harald Cramer, there taking full advantage of the opportunity for informality and personal recollections, with slides and audio tape excerpts. Initially I felt that these reflections may be less appropriate in written form amongst formal scientific articles. My change of heart arises from the conviction that there are valuable lessons to be learned from the life, as well as the printed work of this giant of our field. It is my hope that some of these will become apparent to an interested reader in the course of the somewhat anectodal (and necessarily first person singular) recollections of one person's view of a statistical pioneer in his later, but still enormously productive years. It is a pleasure to record my appreciation to Professor Anders Martin-Lof and his committee for their splendid organization of the very fitting Centenary Meeting, for the invitation to participate in it personally, and to subsequently give these reminis...