Michael Hills (7 June 1934–7 January 2021)
这篇讣告回顾了医学统计学家迈克尔·希尔斯的一生，突出他在教学、书籍和统计软件方面的贡献，特别是对流行病学统计方法的清晰阐述，适合对统计学史或医学统计感兴趣的人阅读。
Michael Hills died at the age of 86 on 7 January 2021 of COVID-19 after a short period of worsening ill-health. In his long career, he influenced many through his teaching and mentoring, his books, statistical packages and broad research interests, including those in history, art and politics. He was joint editor for Applied Statistics (now Series C) between 1981 and 1984 when the breadth of his expertise shone, as well as his care for young authors (of which I for one was a direct beneficiary). He is best known for his contributions to the life of the London School for Hygiene and Tropical Medicine where he worked over two spells, first between 1962 and 1971, and then from 1985 to 1996, when he (officially but not practically) retired. In between, he worked at the Natural History Museum, as Head of Biometrics and Computing, and also at the Open University, as Lecturer in Statistics. Michael loved teaching and educated scores of researchers with beautifully prepared and ever-so-succinct short courses held across Europe and beyond, most notably at the ‘Florence Summer School’ (the European Educational Programme in Epidemiology) where he taught from its inception in 1991 till only a few years ago. He had the special gift of being able to reduce statistical and methodological concepts to their essence, which were then communicated with exceptional clarity. His book with David Clayton (Clayton and Hills 1993, Statistical Models in Epidemiology. Oxford: Oxford University Press) is a typical example of this. It is a classic reference as, like no other textbook before, it offered an accessible but yet formal link between statistical modelling and estimation, and the goals of epidemiological research. Beyond his teaching, Michael made several valuable and enduring contributions to the literature, besides his book with David Clayton. He published in the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A and B, Applied Statistics, The Statistician, Biometrics and Biometrika, among others. The topics ranged from study design to the analysis of binary and discrete data, and the applications included anthropometry, medicine and epidemiology, giving testimony to the breadth of his methodological and applied work. Michael was a witty, self-effacing, kind, rigorous man with deep intellectual integrity. These features inspired his students, colleagues and collaborators everywhere. He will be sorely missed and fondly remembered.