The American statistician and sociologist Richmond Mayo-Smith (1854-1901) pioneered in teaching statistics and applying it to the social sciences. He was one of the founders of the American Economic Association.

Born in Troy, Ohio, the third son of Preserved and Lucy Smith, Richmond Mayo-Smith was the direct descendant of a famous Puritan family of clergymen. He did his undergraduate work at Amherst College. There he came under the influence of John W. Burgess, who interested him in economics and allied subjects. After receiving his bachelor's degree, he spent 2 years in graduate study at the universities of Heidelberg and Berlin at the suggestion of Burgess, who offered him the chair in economics and statistics in the soon to be established faculty of political science at Columbia College if he would complete his studies abroad. In 1877 he received his appointment at Columbia as an instructor in history and political science...