Ronald Fisher

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Ronald Fisher bigraphy, stories - English statistician, geneticist

Ronald Fisher : biography

17 February 1890 – 29 July 1962

Sir Ronald Aylmer Fisher FRS (17 February 1890 – 29 July 1962) was an English statistician, evolutionary biologist, geneticist, and eugenicist. Fisher is known as one of the chief architects of the neo-Darwinian synthesis, for his important contributions to statistics, including the analysis of variance (ANOVA), method of maximum likelihood, fiducial inference, and the derivation of various sampling distributions, and for being one of the three principal founders of population genetics. Anders Hald called him "a genius who almost single-handedly created the foundations for modern statistical science", while Richard Dawkins named him "the greatest biologist since Darwin".Dawkins, R. (2010). WHO IS THE GREATEST BIOLOGIST SINCE DARWIN? WHY? "Who is the greatest biologist since Darwin? That’s far less obvious, and no doubt many good candidates will be put forward. My own nominee would be Ronald Fisher. Not only was he the most original and constructive of the architects of the neo-Darwinian synthesis. Fisher also was the father of modern statistics and experimental design. He therefore could be said to have provided researchers in biology and medicine with their most important research tools, as well as with the modern version of biology’s central theorem."

Biography

Early life

Fisher was born in East Finchley in London, England, to George and Katie Fisher. His father was a successful fine arts dealer at one time. He had a happy childhood, being doted on by three older sisters, an older brother, and his mother, but she died when he was 14. His father lost his business in several ill-considered transactions only 18 months later.Box, R. A. Fisher, pp 8–16

Although Ronald Fisher had quite poor eyesight, he was a precocious student, winning the Neeld Medal (a competitive essay in mathematics) at Harrow School at the age of 16. Because of his poor eyesight, he was tutored in mathematics without the aid of paper and pen, which developed his ability to visualize problems in geometrical terms, without contributing to his interest in writing proper derivations of mathematical solutions, especially proofs. He amazed his peers with his ability to conjecture mathematical solutions without justifying his conclusions by showing intermediate steps. He also developed a strong interest in biology, and especially evolutionary biology.

In 1909, he won a scholarship to the Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. There he formed many friendships and became enthralled with the heady intellectual atmosphere. At Cambridge, Fisher learned of the newly rediscovered theory of Mendelian genetics. He saw biometry and its growing corpus of statistical methods as a potential way to reconcile the discontinuous nature of Mendelian inheritance with continuous variation and gradual evolution. However, his foremost concern was eugenics, which he saw as a pressing social as well as scientific issue that encompassed both genetics and statistics. In 1911, Fisher was involved in the forming of the University of Cambridge Eugenics Society with John Maynard Keynes, R.C. Punnett, and Horace Darwin (the son of Charles Darwin). This group was active, and it held monthly meetings, often featuring addresses by leaders of mainstream eugenics organizations, such as the Eugenics Education Society of London, founded by Charles Darwin’s half-cousin, Francis Galton in 1909.Box, R. A. Fisher, pp 17–34

Close to Fisher’s graduation in 1912, his tutor told his student that—despite his enormous aptitude for scientific work and his mathematical potential—his disinclination to show calculations or to prove propositions rendered him unsuited for a career in applied mathematics, which required greater fortitude. His tutor gave him a "lukewarm" recommendation, stating that if Fisher "had stuck to the ropes he would have made a first-class mathematician, but he would not."Sir John Russell. .

After his graduation, Fisher was eager to join the British Army in anticipation of the entry of Great Britain into World War I. However, he failed the medical examinations (repeatedly) because of his poor eyesight. Over the next six years, he worked as a statistician for the City of London. For part of his war work, he took up teaching physics and mathematics at a sequence of public schools, including Bradfield College in Berkshire, as well as aboard H.M. Training Ship Worcester. Major Leonard Darwin (another son of Charles Darwin) and an unconventional and vivacious friend he called Gudruna were almost his only contacts with his Cambridge circle. They sustained him through this difficult period.