Fiske, Donald Winslow, 1916-

Donald Winslow Fiske was born in Lincoln, New Hampshire on August 27, 1916. He earned his A.B. in philosophy in 1937 and his A.M. in psychology in 1939 both from Harvard University. He took his first teaching position in 1939 at Cambridge Junior College and remained there until 1941. During this time he was also an assistant at Harvard, Radcliffe, Wellesley, and Phillips Academy.

Fiske joined the aviation psychology section of the U.S. Navy in 1942 and was named head of the section in 1946. During his time with the Navy, Fiske worked within the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery and also in the Office of Strategic Services. After the war Fiske went to the University of Michigan as a doctoral student and instructor in psychology. He earned his Ph.D. in psychology in 1948. Upon graduation he accepted a faculty position in psychology at the University of Chicago where he remained throughout his entire career. He was chair of the Department of Behavioral Sciences from 1982-1985 and in 1986 became Professor Emeritus.

Professionally, Fiske served on numerous committees within the APA and was the president of Division 5 (Evaluation, Measurement, and Statistics) from 1977-1978. He also served as president of the Midwestern Psychological Association 1962-1963 and the Society for Multivariate Experimental Psychology 1968-1969.

Donald W. Fiske died April 6, 2003.

From the guide to the Donald W. Fiske papers, 1934-2003, (Center for the History of Psychology)