  The early history of our department was dominated by Jerzy Neyman
(1894-1981), while the next phase was largely in the hands of Neyman's
students, with Erich Lehmann (1917-2009) being a central, long-lived and
much-loved member of this group. We are very fortunate in having Constance
Reid's biography "Neyman -- From Life" and Erich's "Reminiscences of a
Statistician: The Company I Kept" and other historical material documenting the
founding and growth of the department, and the people in it. In what follows,
we will draw heavily from these sources, describing what seems to us to be a
remarkable success story: one person starting "a cell of statistical research
and teaching ... not being hampered by any existing traditions and routines"
and seeing that cell grow rapidly into a major force in academic statistics
worldwide. That it has remained so for (at least) the half-century after its
founding is a testament to the strength of Neyman's model for a department of
statistics.
