Halliman Winsborough

MADISON- Halliman Herrin Winsborough, of Madison, passed away on September 5th, at the age of 86. He was born to Halliman Pryor Winsborough and Jean Herrin Winsborough on April 13, 1932, in St Louis, Missouri.

Hal was the Emma Welsch Conway-Bascom Professor of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he taught and conducted research for 33 years. He was also named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. After earning his PhD from the University of Chicago in 1960, Hal taught at Ohio State University and Duke University before coming to UW-Madison in 1967. In 2000, he served as the Interim Director of the Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research at the University of Michigan - the major social science data archive in the U.S.

Hal was an exceptional academic innovator. He developed the world-renown Center for Demography and Ecology at the UW-Madison as a resource-sharing cooperative. He recruited exceptional faculty and students, created valuable data resources - including the first micro-data samples from the 1940 and 1950 U.S. Censuses - and was a pioneer in user-friendly, state-of-the art academic computing. Hal's entrepreneurship and generosity created resources for research and teaching throughout the social scientific community.

Known for his thoughtfulness, wise guidance, quiet wit and great patience - as well as his enthusiasm and skill in the kitchen - Hal will be greatly missed by colleagues, friends and family.

Hal is survived by his wife of 62 years, Shirley Hale Winsborough, and his son Edward Hale "Ned" Winsborough. He was preceded in death in 2011 by his elder son, William Hale Winsborough.

A remembrance gathering is planned for Saturday, Sept. 22, 2018, at 2:00 pm, at Capitol Lakes, 333 W Main St, Madison, WI 53703.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to UW-Madison, College of Letters & Science.


Cress Funeral and Cremation Service
3610 Speedway Rd, Madison
608-238-3434