He served in the United States military from 1944-1954, when he left as a reserve commissioned officer at the rank of first lieutenant in order to pursue a doctorate.
Basmann’s writings at the time made path-breaking and deep contributions to simultaneous equation models, finite sample distribution, and identification.
At Purdue and later Basmann was a great teacher, a friend and a mentor who helped prepare graduate students for careers the loved.
With his expertise in applied statistics and microeconomics at Binghamton and urged by two former graduate students, Basmann became a highly successful litigation consultant.
It was Professor Basmann who prepared the winning statistical argument for the trial of Oprah Winfrey against the cattle producers.