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John Wilder Tukey (1915–2000) was an influential American statistician and mathematician, renowned for his contributions to the field of data analysis and statistical methodology. Born on June 16, 1915, in New Bedford, Massachusetts, Tukey made lasting impacts through his innovative approaches to statistical analysis and visualization.

Tukey's distinguished career included roles at Princeton University, Bell Labs, and later at Stanford University. One of his most significant contributions was the development of Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA), a pioneering approach introduced in his 1977 book of the same name.

In "Exploratory Data Analysis," Tukey advocated for a more visual and interactive exploration of data, emphasizing the importance of graphical methods to gain insights and detect patterns. The book introduced various statistical techniques, including the box plot (box-and-whisker plot), which became a widely used tool for visually summarizing the distribution of data.

Beyond EDA, Tukey made substantial contributions to diverse areas of statistics, including the fast Fourier transform algorithm and the coining of the term "bit" in computing. He received numerous awards for his work, including the National Medal of Science.