Chris Skinner was born in Penge, South London, on March 12th, 1953, the elder son of Richard and Daphne Skinner. His father worked for Lloyds of London, and his mother worked at the family‐run furniture store, Edginton's, in Penge. He showed an early aptitude for mathematics at St Dunstan's College, Catford, gaining a scholarship to Trinity College, Cambridge, and graduating with first‐class Honours in mathematics in 1975. He went on to complete a Master of Science degree in statistics (with distinction) at the London School of Economics (LSE) in 1976 and followed this with a year as an Assistant Statistician at the Central Statistical Office (CSO). However, working as a civil servant was not Chris's cup of tea, so he returned to academia, spending the next year as a Research Assistant in the Statistical Advisory Service at the LSE. Somewhat surprisingly, given his rather lacklustre work experience at the CSO, his time at the LSE sparked a lifelong passion for the application of statistical ideas in government.

Chris had planned to do a doctorate at the LSE, but in 1978 saw that the Department of Social Statistics at the University of Southampton was advertising a lectureship. Chris applied, and Southampton University, immediately recognizing his potential, made him an offer that he could not refuse: a lectureship with a half‐teaching load while he completed a doctorate in social statistics. Chris completed it in 1982 under the supervision of Tim Holt and then quickly established himself as an outstanding researcher in social statistics, and in survey sampling in particular, with his research exerting a strong influence on other doctoral students who followed him in the Department.

At the time, Southampton was becoming an international research centre for social statistics, attracting visits from some of the best academics in the world with interests in the area. Chris thrived in this environment, forming research partnerships and personal friendships with many of these visitors. These connections eventually led to joint research publications that have had a substantial influence in social statistics.

Most of Chris's research career (from 1978 to 2011) was spent at Southampton, and it was there that he became internationally recognized as one of the best social and survey statisticians in the world. He authored more than 80 peer‐reviewed journal papers and edited two influential books on the analysis of survey data. When he arrived at Southampton, the Department of Social Statistics was small, with just five members. But it was a vibrant place for official statistics research, with its Head, Tim Holt, having just returned to the UK after 4 years at Statistics Canada, and with Fred Smith, Head of the Department of Statistics in the Faculty of Mathematics, applying time series ideas to the analysis of repeated sample surveys. Chris immediately fitted in, becoming deeply involved in the emerging research area of analysis of data from complex sample surveys that was just starting up at Southampton. His doctoral research was one of the first to note that the sample designs that were commonly used to collect multivariate social data were rarely non‐informative as far as statistical modelling was concerned, and there was a need for suitable adjustments that compensated for this. His continuing work in this area led him to coedit an extremely influential book with Tim Holt and Fred Smith, Analysis of Complex Surveys, which was published by Wiley in 1989. He followed up on this in 2003 with another coedited book, Analysis of Survey Data, also published by Wiley, that surveyed the rapid developments in the field during the 1990s.

From early in his career at Southampton, Chris became the driving force behind the university's establishment of strong research connections with the CSO and the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys. These links were formalized in 1995 when Chris led the Southampton bid that won a contract to provide methodological support to the CSO. This was so successful that for the next 20 years a succession of similar contracts ensured that Southampton was the de facto source of methodological advice for the CSO and, following its merger with the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys, the Office for National Statistics. As part of these contracts, Chris led many high profile projects, including variance estimation for the Labour Force Survey and sample allocation for the retail price index. He later became heavily involved in research and application of statistical disclosure control methods, including the assessment of disclosure risk associated with the release of the sample of anonymized records from the UK censuses. Recognizing that official statistics was not a standard part of a statistics degree, he was also instrumental in setting up the Master of Science course in official statistics at Southampton, which has trained a generation of official statisticians and became the impetus for the European Masters degree in official statistics. The connections that Chris made with official statistics enriched both UK official statistics and academic research, with many students and visitors to the Department participating.

Chris became a Professor of Statistics at Southampton in 1994, and Head of Social Statistics in 1996. He was Director of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Centre for Applied Social Surveys from 2001 to 2005 and of the ESRC National Centre for Research Methods from 2004 to 2009. Chris remained at Southampton until 2011, when he was awarded an ESRC Professorial Fellowship. He then moved back to London to be Professor of Statistics at the LSE and, after the completion of his Fellowship, served as Head of Statistics at the LSE, 2013–2016. Under his leadership the Department expanded, and a new data science group was established.

Chris's involvement with official statistics persisted after his move to the LSE. In 2013 he chaired an independent review of plans for the 2021 census which concluded that replacing an expensive traditional census with cheaper alternatives based on integration of administrative registers was not advisable given the huge strategic importance of census information. The resulting parliamentary report, ‘Too soon to scrap the Census’, recommended instead that for 2021 the UK move to collecting census data on line rather than via the standard approach of filling out and returning physical census forms. Chris also continued his research on statistical disclosure control and was a primary instigator for the 2016 programme on ‘Data anonymization and linkage’ at the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences at the University of Cambridge.

Together with his partner Sandra, Chris enjoyed well‐earned sabbatical leave in the Antipodes in 2017. Most of his time was spent at the University of Wollongong, discussing issues arising from informative sampling with colleagues there, and with both him and Sandra enduring the heat of an Australian summer. Their visit to New Zealand after that was a blessed relief!

A key feature of Chris's approach to research was that it based itself in real statistical problems. He was an outstanding consultant: very patient in explaining challenging statistical concepts so that they could be understood. He had a large international network of colleagues, many of whom he collaborated with in his research, and was highly sought by national statistical agencies for advice on methodology. Chris was an unassuming person who actively encouraged people to visit Southampton, and later the LSE, often going out of his way to facilitate their visit—to the extent of lending cutlery and bringing beds around. He was also a generous and conscientious mentor and friend to his many doctoral students and was instrumental in launching many of their academic careers. Chris garnered numerous awards in his life: too many to list here. These included the 2009 West Prize from the Royal Statistical Society (RSS) and the Waksberg Award in 2019. He was awarded Commander of the Order of the British Empire for ‘services to social science’ in 2010. He served on many editorial boards, including as Editor of Series C of the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society 2007–2010, and also served on the RSS Council, 2005–2009. All told, he contributed almost 20 years of continuous service to the RSS.

In every respect Chris was an incredibly respected statistician and a joy as a colleague. Any discussion with him would always result in deep insights clearly and quietly expressed after proper consideration and listening patiently. His sense of humour was always there, usually in the background, but gentle when expressed. He was also someone for whom a commitment was something to be taken seriously. Thus, when told in 2019 that he had won the Waksberg Award, and was invited to travel to Canada to accept it and to present the award lecture, Chris initially refused since he was not sure that this would be possible given his health at the time. In the end the award organizers persuaded him to prepare a lecture to be presented on his behalf. Unfortunately, Chris's deteriorating health made it impossible for him to finish the lecture, and the current plans are for the 2021 Waksberg Award to be an invited paper event: a fitting memorial for a great statistician and a kind and caring person.

Chris died on February 21st, 2020, at 66 years of age. He is survived by his wife Sandra, his two sons, Sam and Tom, his granddaughter Zoe, his mother Daphne and his younger brother Julian.

克里斯·斯金纳（Chris Skinner）于1953年3月12日出生于伦敦南部的彭格，是理查德（Richard）和达芙妮·斯金纳（Daphne Skinner）的长子。他的父亲在伦敦的劳埃德（Lloyds）工作，母亲在彭格（Penge）的家庭经营的家具店Edginton's工作。他在卡特福德（Catford）的圣邓斯坦学院（St Dunstan's College）展现了数学的早期才能，获得了剑桥三一学院（Trinity College）的奖学金，并于1975年获得了数学的一等荣誉学位。 ）于1976年在伦敦经济学院（LSE）任教，随后又在中央统计局（CSO）担任了助理统计学家一年。但是，担任公务员并不是克里斯的工作，所以他回到了学术界，并于次年在伦敦政治经济学院统计咨询处担任研究助理。

克里斯原本计划在伦敦政治经济学院（LSE）攻读博士学位，但是在1978年，南安普顿大学社会统计系正在宣传一项演讲。克里斯提出了申请，南安普敦大学立即意识到了他的潜力，向他提供了一个他不能拒绝的提议：在完成社会统计学博士学位的同时，讲师的工作量达到了一半。克里斯（Chris）于1982年在蒂姆·霍尔特（Tim Holt）的监督下完成了此研究，然后迅速确立了自己在社会统计学，特别是在抽样调查中的杰出研究者的地位，其研究对跟随该系的其他博士生产生了重大影响。

当时，南安普敦（Southampton）正在成为国际社会统计研究中心，吸引了世界上对该地区感兴趣的一些最优秀学者的访问。克里斯在这种环境中蓬勃发展，与许多访客建立了研究合作伙伴关系并建立了个人友谊。这些联系最终导致联合研究出版物对社会统计产生了重大影响。

克里斯（Chris从1978年至2011年）的大部分研究生涯都在南安普敦（Southampton）工作，在那里，他成为了国际上公认的全球最佳社会和调查统计学家之一。他撰写了80多篇经同行评审的期刊论文，并编辑了两本关于调查数据分析的有影响力的书。当他到达南安普敦时，社会统计系很小，只有五个成员。但这是官方统计研究的生机勃勃的地方，其主管蒂姆·霍尔特（Tim Holt）在加拿大统计局工作了4年后才回到英国，数学系统计系主任弗雷德·史密斯（Fred Smith）则花了一些时间系列想法，以进行重复样本调查的分析。克里斯立刻就适应了 越来越多地涉足新兴的研究领域，该领域是刚刚从南安普敦开始的复杂样本调查数据分析的领域。他的博士研究是第一个注意到，就统计建模而言，通常用于收集多元社会数据的样本设计很少是非信息性的，因此需要进行适当的调整以弥补这一不足。他在这方面的持续工作使他与蒂姆·霍尔特（Tim Holt）和弗雷德·史密斯（Fred Smith）共同编辑了一本极富影响力的书，并且需要适当的调整来弥补这一点。他在这方面的持续工作使他与蒂姆·霍尔特（Tim Holt）和弗雷德·史密斯（Fred Smith）共同编辑了一本极富影响力的书，并且需要适当的调整来弥补这一点。他在这方面的持续工作使他与蒂姆·霍尔特（Tim Holt）和弗雷德·史密斯（Fred Smith）共同编辑了一本极富影响力的书，Wiley于1989年出版了《Analysis of Complex Surveys》。2003年，他又合着了另一本合着的书《Analysis of Survey Data》，该书也由Wiley出版，它对1990年代该领域的快速发展进行了调查。

从南安普敦的职业生涯初期开始，克里斯就成为该大学与公民社会组织和人口普查与调查办公室建立牢固的研究联系的推动力量。1995年，当克里斯领导南安普敦竞标时，这些链接正式确定，该竞标赢得了一项为CSO提供方法论支持的合同。这是如此成功，以至于在接下来的20年中，一系列类似的合同确保了南安普敦事实上是为公民社会组织提供方法论建议的来源，并在与人口普查和调查局合并后由国家统计局提供。作为这些合同的一部分，克里斯领导了许多引人注目的项目，包括劳动力调查的方差估计和零售价格指数的样本分配。后来，他开始大量参与统计披露控制方法的研究和应用，包括评估与从英国普查中释放匿名记录样本相关的披露风险。意识到官方统计不是统计学学位的标准组成部分，因此他还帮助在南安普敦开设了官方统计理学硕士课程，它培训了一代官方统计人员，并成为了欧洲官方统计硕士学位的动力。克里斯与官方统计数据之间的联系丰富了英国的官方统计数据和学术研究，该系有许多学生和访客参加。

克里斯（Chris）于1994年成为南安普敦（Southampton）的统计学教授，并于1996年担任社会统计学负责人。他从2001年至2005年担任经济及社会研究理事会（ESRC）应用社会调查中心和ESRC国家研究方法中心主任从2004年到2009年。克里斯一直待在南安普敦，直到2011年，他被授予ESRC教授奖学金。然后，他移居伦敦，在伦敦政治经济学院担任统计学教授，完成奖学金后，于2013-2016年在伦敦政治经济学院担任统计主管。在他的领导下，该系扩大了，并成立了一个新的数据科学小组。

克里斯在加入伦敦证券交易所后一直参与官方统计。2013年，他主持了对2021年人口普查计划的独立审查，得出的结论是，鉴于人口普查信息的巨大战略重要性，不建议用更便宜的替代方案来取代行政登记册，从而取代昂贵的传统普查。最终的议会报告“过早放弃人口普查”，建议英国在2021年开始在线收集人口普查数据，而不是通过填写和返回实物普查表的标准方法。克里斯还继续他对统计信息披露控制的研究，并且是剑桥大学艾萨克·牛顿数学科学研究所2016年“数据匿名化和链接”计划的主要倡导者。

克里斯与他的搭档桑德拉（Sandra）一起，在2017年的安提波德（Antipodes）享有放假假期。他大部分时间都在卧龙岗大学（University of Wollongong）上，与那里的同事讨论由信息丰富的采样所引起的问题，并且他和桑德拉（Sandra）都承受着高温澳大利亚的夏天 此后，他们对新西兰的访问真是令人欣慰！

克里斯研究方法的一个关键特征是它基于实际的统计问题。他是一位出色的顾问：非常有耐心地解释具有挑战性的统计概念，以便可以理解它们。他拥有一个庞大的国际同事网络，在研究中他与许多同事合作，受到国家统计机构的广泛欢迎，以寻求有关方法的建议。克里斯是一个谦逊的人，他积极鼓励人们参观南安普敦市，后来又鼓励伦敦证券交易所（LSE）出面，以便利他们的访问-在提供餐具和铺床的范围内。他还是许多博士生的慷慨和良心导师和朋友，并在开启他们的许多学术生涯中发挥了作用。克里斯一生中获得了无数奖项：这里不胜枚举。皇家统计学会杂志2007–2010，还曾任RSS委员会2005–2009。总而言之，他为RSS提供了近20年的持续服务。

在各个方面，克里斯都是一位令人难以置信的受推崇的统计学家，并且是同事的喜悦。经过适当考虑并耐心聆听，与他的任何讨论都将始终导致清晰，安静地表达深刻的见解。他的幽默感一直存在，通常是在背景中，但表达时却温柔。他也是一个应该认真对待承诺的人。因此，克里斯在2019年被告知他已获得Waksberg奖并应邀前往加拿大接受并参加颁奖演讲时，最初拒绝了Chris，因为他不确定当时的健康状况会否做到这一点。最后，奖励组织者说服他准备了一场演讲，代表他演讲。不幸的是，克里斯的健康状况恶化，使他无法完成演讲，

克里斯于2020年2月21日去世，享年66岁。他的妻子桑德拉（Sandra），两个儿子萨姆（Sam）和汤姆（Tom），孙女佐伊（Zoe），母亲达芙妮（Daphne）和弟弟朱利安（Julian）幸免于难。