Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Working Knowledge
Business Research for Business Leaders
  • Browse All Articles
  • Popular Articles
  • Cold Call Podcast
  • Managing the Future of Work Podcast
  • About Us
  • Book
  • Leadership
  • Marketing
  • Finance
  • Management
  • Entrepreneurship
  • All Topics...
  • Topics
    • COVID-19
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Finance
    • Gender
    • Globalization
    • Leadership
    • Management
    • Negotiation
    • Social Enterprise
    • Strategy
  • Sections
    • Book
    • Podcasts
    • HBS Case
    • In Practice
    • Lessons from the Classroom
    • Op-Ed
    • Research & Ideas
    • Research Event
    • Sharpening Your Skills
    • What Do You Think?
    • Working Paper Summaries
  • Browse All
    • Archive

    Fame At Last: Who WAS Who According to the New York Times Obituaries

     
    Fascinating tidbits from the database of the New York Times obituaries
    4/30/2001
    Is the length of one's New York Times obituary an indicator of fame? If so, then Cray Research founder Seymour Cray (66 inches) was more famous than IBM patriarch Thomas Watson Jr. (53 inches). As this book indicates, however, the length and placement of your final notice is also influenced by competing news of the day, the time and day that your death becomes news, and other factors. Ball and Jonnes skillfully combine interesting (if not always meaningful) data from the New York Times obituaries database and other sources, with compelling narrative about many people whose obits appeared in the Times. A number of individual entrepreneurs (including Watson, but not Cray) are portrayed. Read it cover to cover or browse through; it's a good read.
    ǁ
    Campus Map
    Harvard Business School Working Knowledge
    Baker Library | Bloomberg Center
    Soldiers Field
    Boston, MA 02163
    Email: Editor-in-Chief
    →Map & Directions
    →More Contact Information
    • Make a Gift
    • Site Map
    • Jobs
    • Harvard University
    • Trademarks
    • Policies
    • Accessibility
    • Digital Accessibility
    Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College