Thomas Vincent Learson (September 26, 1912 – November 4, 1996) was IBM's chairman and

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especial ...

from June 1971 through January 1973. He was succeeded by

Frank T. Cary Frank T. Cary (December 14, 1920 – January 1, 2006) was an American executive and businessman. Cary served as the Chairman of IBM from 1973 to 1983 and CEO from 1973 to 1981. Early life and education Frank Taylor Cary was born on December 1 ...

. Both the previous chairman

Thomas Watson Jr. Thomas John Watson Jr. (January 14, 1914 – December 31, 1993) was an American businessman, political figure, Army Air Forces pilot, and philanthropist. The son of IBM Corporation founder Thomas J. Watson, he was the second IBM president (195 ...

and senior project manager

Fred Brooks Frederick Phillips Brooks Jr. (April 19, 1931 – November 17, 2022) was an American computer architect, software engineer, and computer scientist, best known for managing the development of IBM's System/360 family of computers and the O ...

regarded Learson as the driving force behind the IBM System/360 project, which was huge and risky but whose success ensured IBM's dominance of the mainframe computer market. He was born in Roslindale, Boston, Massachusetts, son of Richard J. Learson and Katharine E. (Goode) Learson. He graduated from Boston Latin School in 1931, then majored in mathematics at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

, graduating in 1935. From 1975 to 1977 he was Ambassador-at-Large for Law of the Sea Matters and Special Representative of the President for the Law of the Sea Conference, and Chief of Delegation. He died at age 84 and is buried with his wife Gladys at the

Gate of Heaven Cemetery Gate of Heaven Cemetery, approximately 25 miles (40 km) north of New York City, was established in 1917 at 10 West Stevens Ave. in Hawthorne, Westchester County, New York, as a Roman Catholic burial site. Among its famous residents is ...

, in

Hawthorne, New York Hawthorne is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located in the town of Mount Pleasant in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 4,586 at the 2010 census. History The village was originally known as Hammond's Mill ...

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IBM biography of LearsonTimothy D. Cook Net Worth
1912 births 1996 deaths American chief executives of Fortune 500 companies Burials at Gate of Heaven Cemetery (Hawthorne, New York) Harvard University alumni IBM employees Businesspeople from Boston American technology chief executives 20th-century American businesspeople Boston Latin School alumni People from Roslindale {{US-business-bio-1910s-stub