Sociologist, educator, and statistician William F. Ogburn was born in Butler, Georgia, on June 29, 1886, the son of Charlton Greenwood, a planter and merchant, and Irene Wynne Ogburn. After earning a bachelor's degree at Mercer University in Macon, he went on to Columbia University in New York City for an M.A. (1909) and a Ph.D. (1912) in sociology. From 1912 to 1917, he taught sociology and economics at Reed College in Portland, Oregon, and sociology at the University of Washington (1917-1918). At that time, he said he turned his attention fully to science, the world of statistics, and change. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and on the National War Labor Board. His work during this period established him as a pioneer in methods of analyzing family budgets and building price indexes.

Ogburn became a professor of sociology at Columbia (1919-1927) and at...