Wkład ośrodków statystycznych w Krakowie i we Wrocławiu w rozwój metod klasyfikacji i analizy danych

The year 2022 marked the 10th anniversary of the passing of Prof. Kazimierz Zając, the long-standing head of the Department of Statistics and later the director of the Institute of Statistics, Econometrics and Computer Science at Krakow University of Economics, while 2023 marked the 10th year of the passing of Prof. Zdzisław Hellwig, the long-standing head of the Department of Statistics and director of the Institute of Economic Cybernetics at Wroclaw University of Economics. Both professors were the scientific leaders of statistical centres at the above-mentioned universities. The aim of the article is to present the contribution of Polish statisticians to the development of the theoretical foundations and empirical research in the field of numerical taxonomy and methods of data classification and analysis. Particular emphasis is placed on the achievements of Professor Zając and Professor Hellwig and their students and associates. According to the authors of this work, recalling the achievements of these scholars is especially important as most commonly cited sources on data classification and analysis are mainly English-language.