Edward Tufte

Edward Rolf Tufte (/ˈtʌfti/ ^ⓘ; born March 14, 1942), sometimes known as "ET", is an American statistician and professor emeritus of political science, statistics, and computer science at Yale University. He is noted for his writings on information design and as a pioneer in the field of data visualization.

Edward Rolf Tufte was born in 1942 in Kansas City, Missouri, to Virginia Tufte (1918–2020) and Edward E. Tufte (1912–1999). He grew up in Beverly Hills, California, where his father was a longtime city official. He graduated from the public Beverly Hills High School.

Tufte received a BS and a MS in statistics from Stanford University, and a Doctor of Philosophy in political science from Yale University. His dissertation was completed in 1968 and titled The Civil Rights Movement and Its Opposition.

Tufte was hired in 1967 by the Woodrow Wilson School of Princeton University as a lecturer in politics and public affairs, where he steadily moved up to the rank of full Professor in 1972. He taught courses there in political economy and data analysis while publishing three quantitatively inclined political science books.

In 1975, while at Princeton, Tufte was asked to teach a statistics course to a group of journalists who were visiting the school to study economics. He developed a set of readings and lectures on statistical graphics, which he further developed in joint seminars he taught with renowned statistician John Tukey, a pioneer in the field of information design. These course materials became the foundation for Tufte's first book on information design, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information.

In 1977, Tufte left Princeton University for Yale University, where he accepted an appointment as Professor of Political Science, Statistics, and Computer Science, as well as a Senior Critic at the Yale School of Art.

After negotiations with major publishers failed, Tufte decided to self-publish the book The Visual Display of Quantitative Information in 1982, working closely with graphic designer Howard Gralla. Tufte financed the work by taking out a second mortgage on his home. The book quickly became a commercial success and secured Tufte's transition from political scientist to information expert.

In 1999, after 22 years of service at Yale University, his professorship at Yale was made Emeritus.