Why is the R in front of the D gear in cars (and vice versa)?

Most (or all) cars that have an automatic transmission have the reverse gear in front of the drive (forward) gear (and vice versa). What was the reasoning behind putting reverse (R) in the front and forward (D) in the back? To me, it seems intuitive that the gear that makes your car go froward would be in the front, and the gear that makes your car go backward would be in the back. However, most vertical gear shifters have it the other way around.

Why is the R in front of the D gear in cars (and vice versa)? Was it just because the first car(s) with automatic transmissions had it that way, and then it became the standard?