James Maxwell McConnell Fisher (3 September 1912 – 25 September 1970) was a British author, editor, broadcaster, naturalist and

ornithologist Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

. He was also a leading authority on Gilbert White and made over 1,000 radio and television broadcasts on natural history subjects.

Early life

Fisher was the son of Kenneth Fisher (also a keen ornithologist and headmaster of Oundle School from 1922 to 1945); his maternal uncle was the Cheshire naturalist

Arnold Boyd Arnold Whitworth Boyd MC, MA, FZS, FRES, MBOU (20 January 1885 – 16 October 1959) was an ornithologist and naturalist from Altrincham, Cheshire, England. Boyd was born on 20 January 1885. He was a long-time contributor to ''The Guardian'' ' ...

. He was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

, and began studying medicine at

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

, but later switched to

zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

. He took part in the Oxford Arctic expedition in 1933 as ornithologist.

Career

After university he joined

London Zoo London Zoo, also known as ZSL London Zoo or London Zoological Gardens is the world's oldest scientific zoo. It was opened in London on 27 April 1828, and was originally intended to be used as a collection for science, scientific study. In 1831 o ...

as an assistant curator, and during the war studied

rooks Rook (''Corvus frugilegus'') is a bird of the corvid family. Rook or rooks may also refer to: Games *Rook (chess), a piece in chess *Rook (card game), a trick-taking card game Military *Sukhoi Su-25 or Rook, a close air support aircraft * USS ...

for the Ministry of Agriculture. He later became a leading member of the

RSPB The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a Charitable_organization#United_Kingdom, charitable organisation registered in Charity Commission for England and Wales, England and Wales and in Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, ...

and

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

, a member of the

National Parks Commission The Countryside Commission (formally the Countryside Commission for England and Wales, then the Countryside Commission for England) was a statutory body in England and Wales, and later in England only. Its forerunner, the National Parks Commissio ...

and vice-chairman of the Countryside Commission. He presented the BBC Radio series ''

Birds In Britain ''Birds In Britain'' was a BBC Radio series, broadcast from 1951 to 1963 on the Home Service, about wild birds. Its lead presenter was James Fisher. It was created as an offshoot from a programme called ''The Naturalist'', in order to avoid ove ...

'' from its inception in March 1951 until its end, twelve years later. Fisher was one of the members of the small party that on 18 September 1955 raised the Union Flag and took official possession for the UK of the tiny, uninhabited, rocky islet of

Rockall Rockall () is an uninhabitable granite islet situated in the North Atlantic Ocean. The United Kingdom claims that Rockall lies within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and is part of its territory, but this claim is not recognised by Ireland. ...

, in the North Atlantic. As well as writing his own books, he was an editor of

Collins Collins may refer to: People Surname Given name * Collins O. Bright (1917–?), Sierra Leonean diplomat * Collins Chabane (1960–2015), South African Minister of Public Service and Administration * Collins Cheboi (born 1987), Kenyan middle- ...

New Naturalist series The New Naturalist Library (also known as ''The New Naturalists'') is a series of books published by Collins in the United Kingdom, on a variety of natural history topics relevant to the British Isles. The aim of the series at the start was: "To ...

. He was the resident ornithologist in the regular "

Nature Parliament Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are p ...

" series broadcast in the 1950s on

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

radio as part of

Children's Hour ''Children's Hour'', initially ''The Children's Hour'', was the BBC's principal recreational service for children (as distinct from "Broadcasts to Schools") which began during the period when radio was the only medium of broadcasting. ''Childre ...

. It is likely that his writing and broadcasting played a significant role in the growth of interest in birdwatching in the United Kingdom in the post-Second World War period. He was awarded the

British Trust for Ornithology The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) is an organisation founded in 1932 for the study of birds in the British Isles. The Prince of Wales has been patron since October 2020. History Beginnings In 1931 Max Nicholson wrote: In the United State ...

's Bernard Tucker Medal in 1966.

Personal life

He was married to Margery Lilian Edith Turner, and they had six children, including the publisher Edmund Fisher. He died in a car crash in September 1970.

Legacy

After Fisher's death he was commemorated in two ways. A public appeal allowed the seabird island of Copinsay, Orkney, to be purchased as a permanent nature reserve dedicated to his name.Fisher, James Maxwell McConnell (1912–1970), ornithologist
by Gwynne Vevers, rev. Clemency Thorne Fisher in

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

online (accessed 21 July 2008) Also, his papers were subsequently purchased by Bruce Coleman and John Burton and presented to

The National Archives National archives are central archives maintained by countries. This article contains a list of national archives. Among its more important tasks are to ensure the accessibility and preservation of the information produced by governments, both ...

Bibliography

*1939: ''Animals as Friends and how to Keep Them'' ( J. M. Dent and Sons) with Margaret Shaw. *1939 ''Birds as Animals'' (

W. Heinemann William Heinemann Ltd., with the imprint Heinemann, was a London publisher founded in 1890 by William Heinemann. Their first published book, 1890's ''The Bondman'', was a huge success in the United Kingdom and launched the company. He was joined ...

) *1939 ''The Living Thoughts of Darwin'' (Cassell) with

Julian Huxley Sir Julian Sorell Huxley (22 June 1887 – 14 February 1975) was an English evolutionary biologist, eugenicist, and internationalist. He was a proponent of natural selection, and a leading figure in the mid-twentieth century modern synthesis. ...

. *1941 ''The Natural History of Selborne'' (

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Pelican Pelicans (genus ''Pelecanus'') are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before s ...

, paperback—sold over 3 million copies. *1942 ''The Birds of Britain'' ( W. Collins) *1944 ''Birds of the Village'' (Penguin Books) *1947 ''Bird Recognition 1: sea-birds & waders'' (Pelican Books) (Penguin Books; revised edition 1954) *1951 ''Bird Recognition 2: birds of prey and water-fowl'' (Pelican Books) (Penguin Books) *1952 ''Birds of the Field'' (Collins) *1952 ''The Fulmar'' (Collins) *1952 ''Nature Parliament'' (J. M. Dent) *1953 ''A Thousand Geese'' (Collins, London), with Peter Scott *1954 ''A History of Birds'' (

Houghton Mifflin The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...

, Boston, Mass.) *1954 ''The Wonderful World; The adventure of the earth we live on'' (Hanover House) Art editor: F. H. K. Henrion *1954 ''Sea-birds: an introduction to the natural history of the sea-birds of the North Atlantic'' (Collins), with

Ronald Lockley Ronald Mathias Lockley (8 November 1903 – 12 April 2000) was a Welsh ornithologist and naturalist. He wrote over fifty books on natural history, including a major study of shearwaters, and many articles. He is perhaps best known for his book ...

*1955 ''Bird Recognition 3: rails, game-birds and larger perching and singing birds'' (Pelican Books). (Penguin Books) *1956 ''Adventure of the Sea'' (Rathbone Books) *1956 ''Birds and Beasts'' (Phoenix House) *1956 ''Rockall'' (Bles) *1956 ''Wild America'' (Collins), with

Roger Tory Peterson Roger Tory Peterson (August 28, 1908 – July 28, 1996) was an American naturalist, ornithologist, illustrator and educator, and one of the founding inspirations for the 20th-century environmental movement. Background Peterson was born in Jam ...

. *1957 ''The Wonderful World of the Sea'' ( Garden City Books) *1958 ''Adventure of the Air'' (Rathbone Books) *1958 ''Shackleton and the Antarctic'' (Houghton Mifflin, Boston, Mass.) with Margery Turner Fisher. *1959 ''The Wonderful World of the Air'' (Garden City Books) *1960 ''Nature: Earth, Plants, Animals'' (Macdonald) with Julian Huxley. *1961 ''The Doubleday Pictorial Library of Nature: earth, plants, animals'' ( Doubleday, Garden City, N.Y.) with Julian Huxley. *1964 ''Shell Nature Book'' (

Littlehampton Book Services Hachette () is a French publisher. Founded in 1826 by Louis Hachette as Brédif, the company later became L. Hachette et Compagnie, Librairie Hachette, Hachette SA and Hachette Livre in France. After acquiring an Australian publisher, Hachette ...

, 1964) with Geoffrey Grigson. *1964 ''The World of Birds'' (Doubleday, Garden City, N.Y.) with

. *1966 ''The Migration of Birds'' ( Bodley Head) illustrated by Crispin Fisher. *1966 ''The Shell List of British and Irish Birds'' ( Ebury Press) *1966 ''The Shell Bird Book'' (Ebury Press) *1966 ''Shell Nature Lovers' Atlas of England, Scotland & Wales'' (Ebury Press) *1967 ''Zoos of the World: The Story of Animals in Captivity'' (Natural History Press) *1969 ''The Red Book - Wildlife in Danger'' (Viking) with Noel Simon and

Jack Vincent Jack Vincent (6 March 1904 – 3 July 1999) was an English ornithologist. Biography Vincent was born in London. At age 21 he moved to South Africa where he worked on two farms in the Richmond district of the Natal Province. In the 1920s he w ...

. *1971 ''Birds: an introduction to ornithology'' (Aldus Books) posthumously with Roger Tory Peterson. *1973 ''List of Mammals which Have Become Extinct or are Possibly Extinct Since 1600'' ( International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) posthumously with H. A. Goodwin and J. M. Goodwin. *1974 ''Watching Birds'' (

Poyser T. & A. D. Poyser began as a British publisher, founded by Trevor and Anna Poyser in 1973, to specialise in ornithology books. It was located in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, and later in Calton, Staffordshire. T. & A. D. Poyser often worked in co ...

, 1974) posthumously with

Jim Flegg Jim Flegg OBE is a British horticulturalist, broadcaster, ornithologist and writer on bird-related matters. Flegg was a zoology graduate of Imperial College London and spent much of his subsequent professional career working in horticulture at th ...

, illustrated by Crispin Fisher. *1983 ''Darwin'' (

Arnoldo Mondadori Editore Arnoldo Mondadori Editore () is the biggest publishing company in Italy. History The company was founded in 1907 in Ostiglia by 18-year-old Arnoldo Mondadori who began his publishing career with the publication of the magazine ''Luce!''. In 1 ...

, Milan) posthumously with Julian Huxley and Antonello La Vergata.

Contributions

*1931 Marion Isabel Newbigin, Julian Huxley, Trevor Samuel Muffitt, Ernst Bernhard Almquist, Richard Elmhirst ''Biological Foundations in Education: a textbook for teacher training''. (

Allen & Unwin George Allen & Unwin was a British publishing company formed in 1911 when Sir Stanley Unwin purchased a controlling interest in George Allen & Co. It went on to become one of the leading publishers of the twentieth century and to establish an ...

) *1948

Henry Eliot Howard Henry Eliot Howard (13 November 1873 – 26 December 1940) was an English amateur ornithologist, noted for being one of the first to describe territoriality behaviours in birds in a detailed manner. His ideas on territoriality were influential ...

, ''Territory in Bird Life''. Collins (second edition, 1948) – Foreword, with

*1954 ''Evolution as a Process'' (1954) editors Julian Huxley, A. C. Hardy and E. B. Ford. *1976 Archibald Thorburn,''Thorburn's Birds'' (

Overlook Press The Overlook Press is an American publishing house based in New York, New York, that considers itself "a home for distinguished books that had been 'overlooked' by larger houses". History and operations It was formed in 1971 by Peter Mayer, who ...

) posthumously. Illustrated by Archibald Thorburn.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fisher, James 1912 births 1970 deaths British ornithologists British science writers People educated at Eton College Road incident deaths in London Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford 20th-century British writers New Naturalist writers 20th-century British zoologists Zoo curators