Born in Grenville, Grenada, He lived and attendended high school at Combermere School, the oldest high school in Barbados, which is in the Caribbean. While there (1978-1986) he became interested in chess. By the time he was 18 Ron had earned the titles of U.S. National Master, U.S. Senior Master and FIDE Master. His most famous game, Buckmire-Lawson, he beat an International Master in 14 moves(!) at the 1985 British Championships when he was 17.

Ron received his Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1994. RPI (Rensselaer) is in Troy, NY. Ron spent 8 years of his life there (1986-94) earning his Bachelor's (in three years, magna cum laude, 1989), Master (1992) and PhD (1994) degrees. He was Minority Scholar-In-Residence Postdoctoral Fellowship, Occidental College, 1994 to 1996.

Dr. Buckmire has a keen interest in mathematical modelling and applied mathematics. Most of his work has been in theoretical aerodynamics and computational fluid dynamics. In Spring 2004 he is teaching as an assistant professor Complex Analysis, Multivariable Calculus and Junior Colloquium in the mathematics department of Occidental College.

One of the things Ron is most famous for, is the creation of the Queer Resources Directory, which is the oldest and largest Internet online resource of information about GLTB people, as well as AIDS and HIV. There are a number of copies of the QRD Mirrors in the United States, United Kingdom and Israel. In 1996, the QRD became one of the 20 plaintiffs in the lawsuit, RENO vs ACLU et alia attempting to strike down the "indecency provisions" of the Telecommunication Act of 1996 as unconstitutional. On June 26 1997, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the federal Communications Decency Act was unconstitutional.

Besides the QRD Ron has a number of other outlets for his activities. He mainly work on the issues of same-sex marriage, queer immigration and international queer rights. He currently is on the Board of Directors of Being Alive Los Angeles (local HIV advocacy, education and support organization) and the Equality California (statewide GLTB political lobbying organization) and of Overnight Productions, which is responsible for the international gay and lesbian radio newsmagazine This Way Out.

He served on the Board of Directors of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission from 1996 to 2002. Locally, Ron was on the Steering Committee of the Los Angeles Freedom To Marry Task Force from 1994 to 2000. He was the coordinator of Immigration Equality, the Los Angeles chapter of the Lesbian and Gay Immigration Rights Task Force from 1998 to 2002. In 1996, Out Magazine listed Ron as one of the Top 100 Gay and Lesbian Activists of the Year. In July 1997, for its 30th anniversary issue The Advocate named Ron a member of "Generation Q," 30 activists under-30 who have made a difference. He lives with his partner, an opera singer.