Oscar Phelps Austin

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Oscar Phelps Austin was an American statistician, born in Newark, Illinois, and educated in public schools. The earlier years of his life were spent in journalism, and he served as reporter, editor, and Washington correspondent for metropolitan dailies.

He studied statistics, and in 1898 was appointed chief of the Bureau of Statistics of the Department of Commerce and Labor. When the Bureau of Statistics was merged into the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce in 1912, Austin became its assistant chief.

From 1903 to 1914, Austin was a professor of commerce and statistics at George Washington University. He then became statistician of the foreign trade department of the National City Bank in New York City. He wrote about the commerce of nations and continents, comparisons of colonial systems, and national debts.