Person
Finucan, Henry Maurice (1917 - 1983)
- Born
- 6 July 1917
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia - Died
- 28 February 1983
Queensland, Australia - Occupation
- Mathematician and Teacher
Summary
Henry Finucan was one of Australia's most highly-respected mathematical educators. Between 1946 and 1983 he was a member of the Department of Mathematics at the University of Queensland. During this period he contributed significantly to the development and expansion of the Department, after a long period of decline before and during WWII. His research interests focused on statistics, of which he had a broad and deep knowledge. His teaching, however, covered many mathematical subjects, and his student contact hours were extensive. Finucan's interests in mathematics teaching extended to secondary students. For many years he was Chief Examiner for the main mathematics subject in the matriculation examination. He was also involved in the establishment of a Mathematics Competition for Schools. Besides his research papers, Finucan published prolifically in Australian mathematics teacher and the Gazette of the Australian Mathematical Society.
Details
Chronology
- 1937
- Education - BA, University of Queensland
- 1938
- Award - Rhodes Scholarship, Balliol College, University of Cambridge
- October 1940 - February 1942
- Career position - Biometrician, Queensland Department of Agriculture and Stock
- 1942 - 1945
- Military service - Served with the Royal Australian Army
- 1946 - 1952
- Career position - Lecturer, Department of Mathematics, University of Queensland
- 1952 - 1959
- Career position - Senior Lecturer, Department of Mathematics, University of Queensland
- 1956
- Career event - Foundation Member, Australian Mathematical Society
- 1959 - 1983
- Career position - Reader, Department of Mathematics, University of Queensland
- 1960 - 1961
- Career position - President, University Staff Association, University of Queensland
- 1965
- Career position - President, University of Queensland Club
- 1974 - 1975
- Career position - President, Australasian Region, Biometrics Society
- 1980 - 1981
- Career position - Member of Council, Australian Mathematical Society
- 1981
- Career position - Secretary, Queensland Branch, Statistical Society of Australia
- 1982
- Career position - President, Queensland Branch, Statistical Society of Australia
Related entries
Published resources
Journal Articles
- Finucan, H., 'The blood-testing problem', Applied statistics, 13 (1964), 43-50. Details
- Finucan, H., 'The relative position of the two regression curves', Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, series B, 35 (1973), 316-22. Details
- Lipton, S., 'Obituary: Henry Maurice Finucan 1917 - 1983', Journal of the Australian Mathematical Society, series A, 38 (1985), 1-8, https://doi.org/10.1017/S1446788700022564. Details
Helen Cohn
Created: 30 September 2025