Knowledge (XXG)

W. T. Williams

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strategies then in use could all be related to each other: all five use formulas for the distance between clusters that vary only in the weights of certain numerical coefficients. This unification allowed the coefficients to be chosen based on their effect on the overall clustering rather than, as
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between pairs of points normalised by dividing by the total Manhattan distance of the points from the origin. The normalisation makes this distance measure particularly suited for data sets in which some data values may significantly differ from the rest.
120:. A year later, Williams moved to CSIRO himself, at the same time becoming an Australian citizen. He worked in CSIRO's Division of Computing Research in Canberra from 1966 to 1968, and then transferred to the Division of Tropical Pastures in 550: 147:. However, while at Southampton he became interested in more mathematical and statistical research topics such as the spatial distribution of plants. At the same time, he began writing software for his statistical analysis, using the 75:, also in London, from which he earned a bachelor's degree 1933, a PhD and diploma in 1940, and a D.Sc. in 1956. While studying for his PhD, Williams taught at Imperial College from 1933 to 1936, and at 113: 203:
Long a self-taught piano player, Williams took lessons after moving to Australia, earned a credential, and taught piano himself. He also organised the first North Queensland Piano Competition.
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puzzle "The Little Pigley Farm" (also known as Dog's Mead, Little Pigley, Little Piggly Farm, Little Pigsby, Pilgrims' Plot, or Dog Days) which he first published in 1935 in
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Recognizing the general applicability of these methods, Williams went on at CSIRO to apply them to problems other than plant taxonomy, as well as to the classification of
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Studies in the Numerical Analysis of Complex Rain-Forest Communities: III. The Analysis of Successional Data. Journal of Ecology, Vol. 57, No. 2, Jul., 1969, pp. 515-535
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computer then available at Southampton's computer centre. The centre's director, Godfrey Lance, was later to become a regular research collaborator of Williams.
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Lance, G. N.; Williams, W. T. (1966), "Computer programs for hierarchical polythetic classification ("similarity analyses")",
490: 76: 98:. He enlisted as a private (neglecting to inform the military about his degrees) but eventually reached the rank of major. 37: 333:
Lance, G. N.; Williams, W. T. (1967), "A general theory of classificatory sorting strategies. I. Hierarchical systems",
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Williams' most heavily cited research work, with Lance, makes the observation that five different
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In 1965, Williams' former Southampton colleague Godfrey Lance invited him to visit the
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Walker, Rosanne (2006), "Biographical Entry: Williams, William Thomas (1913–1995)",
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Williams was an avid composer of mathematical puzzles; for instance, he wrote the
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Williams retired from CSIRO in 1973, at which point he moved from Brisbane to
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had been done before, selecting the clustering strategy on an ad hoc basis.
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and grasses. In this work, he viewed numerical taxonomy as a form of
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Military personnel from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham
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awarded Williams an honorary doctorate. He was elected as a
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Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
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Index

William Thomas Williams (botanist)
William Thomas Williams
FAA
OBE
botanist
plant taxonomist
algorithms
numerical taxonomy
Fulham
Imperial College of Science and Technology
Sir John Cass Technical College
World War II
Royal Artillery
Royal Army Ordnance Corps
Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
Bedford College for Women
University of Southampton
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
Canberra, Australia
Brisbane
Townsville
plant physiology
Stomata
Ferranti Pegasus
hierarchical clustering
Canberra distance
Manhattan distance
angiosperms
exploratory data analysis
cross-figure

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