W. Edwards Deming was an American statistician who had an interest in quality and process variation. He is best known for the work he did in Japan starting in the 1950s. He taught top managers and engineers methods for improving quality and efficiency. The Japanese credit him as the person who taught them the techniques which led to their phenomenal industrial success and reputation for quality. In 1960 the Emperor of Japan decorated him with the Second Order Medal of the Sacred Treasure- the first American to receive such an honor.