In Memoriam: Bernard George Greenberg 1919-1985

Abstract

Bernard George Greenberg, a pioneer in the field of biostatistics and former Dean, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, died of cancer on November 24, 1985, in Chapel Hill, NC. At the time of his death, Bernie, as he was known to his many friends and colleagues, was Professor Emeritus, Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, having retired from the University 5 months earlier after 36 years of dedicated service. Greenberg was born in New York City on October 4, 1919. He was educated in the public school system there and attended City College of New York, where he graduated in 1939 with a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics. After graduation, Greenberg accepted a junior statistician position with the U.S. Bureau of the Census for a brief period and, in 1940, joined the New York State Department of Health as an assistant statistician, a position he held until he was inducted into the U.S. Army in 1941. These two positions provided Greenberg’s first exposure to biostatistics, demography, and public health and laid the framework for a long and distinguished career in those areas. He never forgot the experiences and challenges of these formative years and referred to them frequently in class and in consultations with students. Following the period of military service, during which time he advanced to the rank of Captain and commanded infantry troops in Europe, Greenberg returned to the New York State Health Department briefly before deciding to obtain further academic training in statistics. In 1946, Greenberg and his bride, Ruth E. Marck, a research assistant