Donald Alexander Stuart Fraser (April 29, 1925 - December 21, 2020) was a Canadian statistician, and Professor Emeritus at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

. In 2012 he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada for his influence in the advancement of the statistical sciences in Canada. In 1961 he was elected as a

Fellow of the American Statistical Association Like many other academic professional societies, the American Statistical Association (ASA) uses the title of Fellow of the American Statistical Association as its highest honorary grade of membership. The number of new fellows per year is limited ...

. In 1985, he was awarded the firs
Gold Medal
of the

Statistical Society of Canada The Statistical Society of Canada (SSC) (french: Société statistique du Canada) is a professional organization whose mission is to promote the use and development of statistics and probability. Its objectives are * to make the general public aw ...

. In 2014 he was chosen as a

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the

American Mathematical Society The American Mathematical Society (AMS) is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to the interests of mathematical research and scholarship, and serves the national and international community through its publications, meetings, ...

"for contributions to the theory and foundations of statistics, as well as for leadership and influence on the advancement of the statistical sciences."

Early life

Donald Fraser was born in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, and raised in Stratford, Ontario. He attended St. Andrew's College in Aurora from 1939 to 1942, and the University of Toronto from 1942 to 1947, completing a bachelor's degree in mathematics, physics and chemistry. While at the University of Toronto he distinguished himself in the sciences, and especially in mathematics. He was a member of the first place team and a Putnam fellow in the

William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition The William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition, often abbreviated to Putnam Competition, is an annual mathematics competition for undergraduate college students enrolled at institutions of higher learning in the United States and Canada (regar ...

in 1946.

References

External links

Personal webpage
at the University of Toronto
Official webpage
at the Department of Statistics, University of Toronto * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, Donald A. S. 1925 births 2020 deaths Canadian statisticians Fellows of the American Mathematical Society Fellows of the American Statistical Association People from Toronto Putnam Fellows University of Toronto faculty University of Toronto alumni Mathematical statisticians Princeton University alumni