W. Ross Ashby
Also known as William Ross Ashby, Ross Ashby
Ross Ashby was a psychiatrist who built the Homeostat and worked in cybernetics. He was born in London in September 1903, studied at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge from 1921, and received a B.A. in 1924 and the M.B. and B.Ch. in 1928. In 1948 he built the Homeostat, joined the Ratio Club in 1949, and published Design for a Brain in 1952. An Introduction to Cybernetics appeared in 1956, and he developed the law of requisite variety and the principle of self-organization. He was a professor at the University of Illinois from 1961 to 1970, and he died in November 1972.
- Works
- 188
- Citations
- 17,393
- h-index
- 26
Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 17 October 2026.
Timeline
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1903–1928
Cambridge and medical training
He is born in London in September 1903. From 1921 he studies at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, receives a B.A. in 1924, and receives the M.B. and B.Ch. in 1928.
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1930–1947
Hospital psychiatry in England
From 1930 to 1936 he works as a clinical psychiatrist for the London County Council. From 1936 to 1947 he is a research pathologist at St Andrew's Hospital in Northampton.
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1945–1947
Major in the medical corps
From 1945 to 1947 he serves as a major in the Royal Army Medical Corps.
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1946–1958
The Homeostat and Ratio Club
In 1946 Alan Turing writes him a letter. In 1948 he builds the Homeostat, and in 1949 he joins the Ratio Club, which meets until 1958. Design for a Brain is published in 1952.
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1955–1956
A year at Stanford
From 1955 to 1956 he is at Stanford.
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1956
Law of requisite variety
In 1956 he publishes An Introduction to Cybernetics. He develops the law of requisite variety and the principle of self-organization.
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1961–1970
Professor at Illinois
From 1961 to 1970 he is a professor at the University of Illinois, and he retires in 1970.
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1970–1972
A fellowship and a death
In August 1970 he retires and becomes an honorary professorial fellow at the University of Wales. He dies in November 1972.
Sources and credits
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