Robert Ardrey was born in London, Ontario, Canada on May 12, 1908. He received his B.A. degree from the University of Western Ontario in 1929, and his M.A., M.D., and Ph.D. degrees from McGill University in 1934, 1937, and 1940
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He also studied at Cambridge University (1940-41). His first teaching position was at McGill (1939-41), followed by appointments as Professor of Zoology at McMaster University (1942-45) and as Head of the Department of Anatomy at the University of British Columbia (1945-58). He joined the staff of the National Institute of Mental Health in Washington, D.C., in 1958 as Chief Science Advisor to the Director.
Dr. Ardrey was one of the founders of behavioural biology, a theory that postulates that complex social behaviour arises not by instinct but rather by learning during individual interactions with conspecifics (other individuals). For more than thirty years he was actively engaged in research on animal behaviour and sexual selection, leading to numerous publications on topics ranging from textbook chapters to scientific articles to popular books on human evolution.
His most significant early theoretical contribution was The Social Contract, published in 1960 with Aylmer Maude under the pseudonym Robin Horton, which became a classic among anthropological works on human society and culture.