Aitchison, Beatrice

The daughter of Clyde and Bertha Williams Aitchison, Beatrice Aitchison was born in Portland, Or. After study at Goucher College (A.B., 1928) and Johns Hopkins (A.M. 1931, Ph.D. 1933), Aitchison taught mathematics, statistics, and economics at the University of Richmond, American University, and the University of Oregon. In 1938 she became a statistician with the Interstate Commerce Commission and in 1953, director of transportation research in the Bureau of Transportation of the Post Office Department.

Beatrice Aitchison (1908-1997) was born in Portland, Oregon, to Bertha Beatrice (Williams) and Clyde Bruce Aitchison. She attended private schools in Oregon before her family moved to Washington, D.C. where she attended public schools. She graduated from Goucher College in 1928 and earned a Masters Degree from John Hopkins University in 1931, and a PhD in 1933.

Aitchison returned to Oregon in 1935 and in 1937 received her second masters, this time in economics at the University of Oregon. She worked at the American University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. She returned to teach economics at the University of Oregon in 1939. In 1942 Aitchison left the UO to begin a long career as a transportation economist with the US government, beginning with the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), then the Transport Economics Divison of the Office of Transportation, and ending with the U.S. Postal Service from which she retired in 1971.

Aitchison conducted research projects on transportation and testified before numerous regulatory agencies. She helped found the American Society of Traffic and Transportation (later called the American Society of Transportation and Logistics). Aitchison won numerous awards over her long career, including the first Federal Woman's Award given by the ICC. She also established grants and fellowships for faculty and students at Johns Hopkins and Goucher College. Aitchison died at the age of 89 in 1997, leaving no immediate survivors.