Autobiography

I was born in the city of New York on August 23, 1921. My undergraduate education, at the City College in New York, was made possible only by the existence of that excellent free institution and the financial sacrifices of my parents. I was graduated in 1940 with a degree of Bachelor of Science in Social Science but a major in Mathematics, a paradoxical combination that was prognostic of my future interests. I entered Columbia University for graduate study and received an M.A. in Mathematics in June, 1941, but under the influence of the statistician-economist, Harold Hotelling, I changed to the Economics Department for subsequent graduate work.