William H. Riker

William H. Riker

William Harrison Riker (September 22, 1920 - June 26, 1993) was an influential political scientist, who advanced the field of political science through his application of game theory and mathematics to the field. Riker was born in Des Moines, Iowa, and received his PhD at Harvard University in 1948. He took on a professorship at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin (then Lawrence College), where he published The Theory of Political Coalitions. In 1962, he became the chair of the Political Science at the University of Rochester, where he remained chair until 1977, and remained active until his death.