Myron Jules Gordon, (October 15, 1920 – July 5, 2010) was an American

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this field there are ...

. He was Professor Emeritus of Finance at the

Rotman School of Management The Joseph L. Rotman School of Management (commonly known as the Rotman School of Management, the Rotman School or just Rotman) is the University of Toronto's graduate business school, located in Downtown Toronto. The University of Toronto has b ...

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

. In 1956, Gordon along with Eli Shapiro, published a method for valuing a stock or business, now known as the

Gordon growth model In finance and investing, the dividend discount model (DDM) is a method of valuing the price of a company's stock based on the fact that its stock is worth the sum of all of its future dividend payments, discounted back to their present value. In ...

Early life and education

Myron Jules Gordon was born on October 15, 1920, to

Ukrainian-Jewish The history of the Jews in Ukraine dates back over a thousand years; Jewish communities have existed in the territory of Ukraine from the time of the Kievan Rus' (late 9th to mid-13th century). Some of the most important Jewish religious and ...

parents who had settled in New York. He was raised in Washington Heights and

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

by his parents, Jack, a salesman, and Eva, a pianist. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1941 with a degree in economics, after switching his major from journalism. He then served in the United States Army until 1946.

Academic career

Gordon held a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

from the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

(1941), a

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

from

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 ...

(1947), and a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

from Harvard (1952). He was an assistant professor at Carnegie Mellon University (1947–1952), then an associate professor at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

(1952–1962) and a professor at the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants Undergraduate education, undergraduate and graduate degrees, including Doctorate, do ...

(1962–1970) prior to joining the University of Toronto in 1970.Myron Gordon's Curriculum Vitae
/ref> His contributions to the field of accounting (and the application of economics and mathematics to accounting) are especially significant and worthy to note. As a leading author of accounting textbooks, he helped educate generations of accounting, business, and management students. Gordon served as president of the

American Finance Association The American Finance Association (AFA) is an academic organization whose focus is the study and promotion of knowledge of financial economics. It was formed in 1939. Its main publication, the '' Journal of Finance'', was first published in 1946. ...

in 1975–1976. He was named a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1993, and received an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree at McMaster University in 1993, and another at the University of Toronto in 2005.

Personal life

During his time in the military, Gordon met and married his wife Helen Elizabeth Taylor, known as Betty. They had two sons, Joe and David. Though Gordon was of Ukrainian-Jewish descent and his wife was the daughter of Baptist missionaries, they became active members of the Unitarian Church. Gordon died in 2010 at the age of 89, after multiple strokes and general ill health.

References

External links

The Royal Society of Canada Homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Myron J. 1920 births 2010 deaths Economists from New York (state) University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni Harvard University alumni University of Toronto faculty Corporate finance theorists Carnegie Mellon University faculty MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences faculty University of Rochester faculty American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent United States Army soldiers United States Army personnel of World War II People from Washington Heights, Manhattan People from Brooklyn Jewish American social scientists Ford Foundation fellowships Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Presidents of the American Finance Association American expatriates in Canada