Erich Lehmann, a former UC Berkeley professor who helped establish the modern field of statistics after World War II, died Sept. 12 of natural causes. He was 91.

Lehmann was born in France and raised in Frankfurt, Germany. After fleeing the Nazis with his family in 1933, he was educated in Switzerland and went to college at Cambridge in the United Kingdom.

In 1940, he went to UC Berkeley for graduate school, and earned a Ph.D. and started teaching statistics there in 1946.

Lehmann's thinking was reflected in his books — "Testing Statistical Hypotheses" in 1959 and "Theory of Point Estimation" in 1983.

Lehmann taught at UC Berkeley from 1946 to 1988 before retiring. He remained active in the field after retirement, said Juliet Shaffer, his wife of 32 years.

In addition to his intellect, Lehmann's sensitivity to others and astuteness helped make him an effective teacher, Shaffer said.

Though his wife said he didn't care much about awards, Lehmann received many accolades in the field. Among those were the Wald and Fisher lectureships; presidency of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics; and editorship of its main journal, "The Annals of Mathematical Statistics."

The Berkeley resident was awarded Guggenheim Fellowships in 1955, 1966 and 1980, and was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1975 and the National Academy of Sciences in 1978.

Lehmann is survived by his wife; three children,

Reach Paul Burgarino at 925-779-7164.