Sir Antony George Anson Fisher (28 June 1915 – 8 July 1988), nicknamed AGAF, was a British businessman and think tank founder. He participated in the formation of various libertarian organisations during the second half of the twentieth century, including the Institute of Economic Affairs and the Atlas Network. Through Atlas, he helped establish up to 150 other institutions worldwide. Early life Antony Fisher was born on 28 June 1915. He was only two years old when his father was killed by a sniper in Gaza during World War I. He was educated at Eton College. He graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge with a degree in engineering. During the Second World War, he served as a fighter pilot in the Royal Air Force, being awarded the Air Force Cross. Career After World War II, he was alarmed by the election of a Labour government, the nationalisation of industry, and the introduction of central economic planning. In 1945, Fisher had read The Road to Serfdom by Austrian economist F. A. Hayek which influenced his thinking. Fisher sought out Hayek at the London School of Economics (where he taught) and talked about his plans to go into politics. Hayek, however, convinced him that think-tanks were the best medium for effecting political change. In 1952, he undertook a study trip to the United States, where he visited the new Foundation for Economic Education (FEE). F. A. Harper of the FEE introduced Fisher to former colleagues from the Agriculture Department of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, who showed him intensive chicken farming techniques. Fisher was very impressed and returned to start England's first battery cage chicken farm, Buxted Chickens, which eventually made him a millionaire. In 1955, he used his fortune to set up the influential Institute of Economic Affairs with Ralph Harris. Some of Fisher's other business ventures did not succeed (including a turtle-farming operation). In 1971 Fisher founded the International Institute for Economic Research, which went to spawn both the Atlas Network in 1981 and the International Policy Network in 2001. Through these operations, Fisher provided financial and operational support for a huge number of fledgling think-tanks, most of which would not exist without his influence. It was through the Atlas Network that Fisher was able to extend his beliefs worldwide. By 1984, Fisher was watching over eighteen institutions in eleven countries. As of 2017, Atlas supports and works with nearly