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 whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

. 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 designation of ASA Fellow has been a sign ...

. In 1985, he was awarded the firs
Gold Medal
of the Statistical Society of Canada. In 2014 he was chosen as a

fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

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 ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, and raised in

Stratford, Ontario Stratford is a city on the Avon River (Ontario), Avon River within Perth County, Ontario, Perth County in southwestern Ontario, Canada, with a 2021 Canadian census, 2021 population of 33,232 in a land area of . Stratford is the County seat, s ...

. 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 list of mathematics competitions, mathematics competition for undergraduate college students enrolled at institutions of higher learning in th ...

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 Putnam Fellows Academic staff of the University of Toronto University of Toronto alumni Mathematical statisticians Princeton University alumni