Rejected Conventional Cures for Poverty Black economist, who died Dec. 1, saw affirmative action and minimum wages as counterproductive Walter E. Williams, an economist and newspaper columnist who died Dec. 1 at the age of 84, delighted in confounding expectations. He did so merely by being himself—a Black economist with libertarian views and a disdain […]

Chuck Yeager, a folksy, hard-living daredevil who was the first aviator to break the sound barrier and became a symbol of bravery for generations of test pilots, astronauts and average Americans, died Monday at the age of 97. The announcement, posted on his official Twitter account by his wife, Victoria, didn’t provide any details. Writing […]

The house in Gainsborough Gardens was tall and elegant in the red-brick Hampstead manner, with a background of old trees. In front of the houses stretched a dank lawn strewn with leaves. He walked across it quickly to the locked gate on the Well Walk side, which preserved the hidden feel of the place. He might […]

China’s prime minister in 1987-98, who became the public face of the Tiananmen massacre, was 90 Li Peng died on July 22nd HIS DIARY entry for April 27th 1989 recorded the moment when the trouble touched Li Peng directly. On his way home from his prime ministerial office in Beijing, his car was blocked by […]

Otto von Bismarck, who introduced socialism in German in 1861 died on July 30, 1898 Lyndon B Johnson, who introduced socialize medicine in the United States in 1965, died in 1973 Otto von Bismarck—who, as prime minister of Prussia (1862–73, 1873–90), used ruthlessness and moderation to unify Germany, founding the German Empire (1871) and serving […]

Medicine & Research community now feels on his behalf: “I will cherish his memory, as should tens of thousands of sleep disorders patients.” Dr. William Dement was a scientist who developed the field of sleep research and coined the term “REM,” or rapid eye movement, to describe the stage of sleep when dreaming takes place. […]

When Ravi Zacharias was a cricket-loving boy on the streets of India, his mother called him in to meet the local sari-seller-turned-palm reader. “Looking at your future, Ravi Baba, you will not travel far or very much in your life,” he declared. “That’s what the lines on your hand tell me. There is no future […]

OKLAHOMA CITY—Former U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, an Oklahoma family doctor who earned a reputation as a conservative political maverick as he railed against federal earmarks and subsidies for the rich, has died. He was 72. Mr. Coburn, who also delivered more than 4,000 babies while an obstetrician in Muskogee, where he treated patients for free […]

Jack Welch led General Electric Co. through two decades of unparalleled growth and transformation, with a brash style that single-handedly remade the conglomerate and changed the landscape of U.S. corporations. He died Sunday at age 84. Mr. Welch’s success, driven by a hard-nosed strategy to slash less profitable businesses and unproductive employees, made him an […]

Clayton Christensen was one of the most influential business theorists of the last 50 years. The Harvard Business School professor’s 1997 book, The Innovator’s Dilemma, introduced in elegant terms the notion of “disruptive innovation,” which explains how cheaper, simpler or unexpected products and services can bring down big companies like U.S. Steel, Xerox and Digital […]