The history of the design of industrial experiments (Stuart Hunter) Prior to World War II experimental design found wide application in the natural sciences but only a scatter of examples exist to illustrate applications in an industrial context. This situation changed dramatically during the war. For example, we know that Plackett and Burman screening designs were employed in the development of proximity fuses. Immediately following the war the profusion of textbooks on industrial applications of experimental design serve as testimony to the subject's importance. Since then industrial experimental design has grown in both theory and application. These many developments will be briefly reviewed.