Charles Roy Henderson ((1911-04-01)April 1, 1911 – (1989-03-14)March 14, 1989) was an American statistician and a pioneer in animal breeding — the application of quantitative methods for the genetic evaluation of domestic livestock. This is critically important because it allows farmers and geneticists to predict whether a crop or animal will have a desired trait, and to what extent the trait will be expressed. He developed mixed model equations to obtain best linear unbiased predictions of breeding values and, in general, any random effect. He invented three methods for the estimation of variance components in unbalanced settings of mixed models, and invented a method for constructing the inverse of Wright's numerator relationship matrix based on a simple list of pedigree information. He, with his Ph.D. student Shayle R. Searle, greatly extended the use of matrix notation in statistics. His methods are widely used by the domestic livestock industry throughout the world and are a cornerstone of linear model theory.

Charles Roy Henderson
Born(1911-04-01)April 1, 1911
DiedMarch 14, 1989(1989-03-14) (aged 77)
NationalityAmerican
Alma materIowa State University
Known for
AwardsElected to the United States National Academy of Sciences
Scientific career
Fields
Institutions
Doctoral advisor
Doctoral studentsShayle R. Searle

Henderson obtained his B.Sc., M.Sc.(nutrition) and Ph.D.(breeding) degrees at Iowa State University, where he was a student of Professor L. N. Hazel. Henderson joined the faculty of the Department of Animal Science at Cornell University in 1948, and headed the Animal Breeding division for nearly 30 years until he retired in 1976. After retiring from Cornell, he was a visiting professor at the University of Guelph and University of Illinois until his death. He completed his book in 1984 at the University of Guelph.

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1990s
  • Henderson, CR (1990). "Statistical Methods in Animal Improvement: Historical Overview". In Gianola, Daniel; Hammond, Keith (eds.). Advances in Statistical Methods for Genetic Improvement of Livestock. Springer-Verlag Inc. pp. 2–14. ISBN 978-3-540-50809-0.
  • Henderson, CR (1990). "Accounting for Selection and Mating Biases in Genetic Evaluation". In Gianola, Daniel; Hammond, Keith (eds.). Advances in Statistical Methods for Genetic Improvement of Livestock. Springer-Verlag Inc. pp. 413–436. ISBN 978-3-540-50809-0.
1980s
1970s
1960s
1950s

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