Ronald Aylmer Fisher

Ronald Aylmer Fisher was born into a wealthy family in London, England, UK on February 17, 1890. He was the second born of twins; his elder twin was still-born.  His father, George Fisher, was an enormously successful fine arts dealer who ran an auction company ranking in importance with Sotheby’s or Christie’s. His mother, Katie Heath, was a lawyer’s daughter.

Fisher’s parents could afford the best private schooling for him, but his life of abundance was temporary. His mother died of peritonitis when he was 14, and his father’s business folded when he was 15. The family moved from a luxurious mansion in one of the richest parts of London – Hampstead – to a small house in one of the poorer parts – Streatham.

Fisher continued to be educated at Harrow School; not because his father could afford the very high fees, but because Ronald was a brilliant student and was awarded scholarships. One of his masters later commented that, of all the students he had taught, Fisher was uniquely brilliant.

In 1909, at age 19, he won a scholarship to the University of Cambridge. Three years later he graduated with first class honors in mathematics.

After graduating, Fisher spent a further year at Cambridge studying postgraduate level physics, including the theory of errors, a topic which heightened his interest in statistics.

Fisher maintained a very strong interest in evolution and genetics throughout his undergraduate days. He was particularly interested in eugenics: the improvement of the human race by selective breeding. Eugenics was then a respectable and popular scientific topic.

It was Fisher’s interest in eugenics that first prompted him to look at the genetics of a population, leading him to found – along with J. B. S. Haldane and Sewall Wright – the new science of population genetics.

Fisher married Ruth Guinness, a physician’s daughter, in 1917. Together they had seven daughters and two sons. Their eldest son George was killed in action flying his fighter plane in 1943, during World War 2. Fisher’s marriage then fell apart.

In 1933 Fisher was appointed Professor of Eugenics at University College London. 

In 1943 he was appointed to the Balfour Chair of Genetics at the University of Cambridge and in 1952 knighted by Queen Elizabeth, becoming Sir Ronald Aylmer Fisher.

In 1959 Fisher moved to Adelaide, Australia to do research work with E. A. Cornish at CSIRO. Now 69 years old, one of the main reasons he moved was he enjoyed the warm, sunny climate of South Australia.

By the end of his career, Fisher had written 7 books and almost 400 academic papers devoted to statistics.

Ronald Fisher died aged 72 on July 29, 1962, in Adelaide, Australia following an operation for colon cancer. Ronald Fisher was cremated and his ashes interred in St. Peter’s Cathedral, Adelaide.