Philip John McCarthy, an expert in social statistics and professor emeritus of statistics at Cornell, died Oct. 10, 1994, of pneumonia. He was 76.
An undergraduate alumnus of Cornell, he got his doctorate from Princeton in mathematics. As a professor and as chairman of the department of statistics at Cornell, he enjoyed a brilliant career. In addition to his teaching, Professor McCarthy distinguished himself as one of a group of statistical experts who deemphasized the use of governmentcompiled data in favor of polls for more representative information.
In the 1950s, he served as one of a group of consultants who revised the Consumer Price Index and refined data for the Natl. Center for Health Statistics, the Dept. of Justice, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
He is survived by his second wife, Jane; one son; three daughters; one stepson; three stepdaughters; and 12 grandchildren. His first wife, Mary Ann Aselin McCarthy, died in 1967. To all his family and friends, we extend sincere condolences.