= Herbert Robbins
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{wiki}
= Herbert Ellis Robbins
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<Herbert Robbins> was a <mathematician> and <statistician> whose research ranged from <topology> to <Empirical Bayes method> methods and <stochastic approximation>. With <Sutton Monro>, he introduced an iterative approach to finding a zero of a function when observations of its values contain random error. Instead of requiring exact function evaluations, successive corrections use noisy measurements with diminishing step sizes. This idea became fundamental to <stochastic optimization>.https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Robbins/[Biography, stochastic approximation and statistical contributions]{ref} He also coauthored an influential mathematical exposition with <Richard Courant>, emphasizing explanations and examples that reveal why a <proof> works rather than a collection of calculation rules.
\Image[https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Robbins/Robbins.jpeg]
{title=Portrait of <Herbert Robbins>}
{description=Photograph identified on the https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Robbins/pictdisplay/[University of St Andrews portrait page].}
{width=240}
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