Robert Fisher Tomes was born on August 4, 1823, in Weston on Avon, Warwickshire, England.

He was an English farmer, zoologist, geologist, and author. He farmed at Welford, Gloucestershire. He served as Vice-President of the Chipping Campden School Board for many years and was appointed Alderman for the County Council of Worcester. In 1860, Tomes became a corresponding member of the Zoological Society of London and published numerous articles in various scientific journals. As his interest expanded to geology, he became a Fellow of the Geological Society in 1877. He was also a specialist in bats, describing several new species. He wrote the sections on Insectivora and Chiroptera in Thomas Bell's “History of Quadrupeds” (2nd ed., 1874). Tomes wrote natural history sections for his own and neighbouring county histories. As his interest in ornithology diminished, he resigned from the British Ornithologists Union in 1866. His collections of birds and mammals testify to his taxidermic skill and knowledge of ornithology. They are found in the Natural History Museum in London and the museum in Worcester.

He died on July 10, 1904, in South Littleton, Worcestershire, England.