Journal of Consumer Research 2001
Remembrance: John A. Howard (1915–1999)
Abstract
Born on June 21, 1915, to a rural Midwestern family, John A. Howard grew up on a small farm near Westville, Illinois. Even after spending most of his life in major urban areas, John never lost the slightly countrified tone to his voice or the singular gracefulness of his gentle manner. Elegantly tall, pencil thin, and almost always clad in a neatly pressed suit with a dapper bow tie, he also retained the bedrock values that one might associate with his upbringing in a heartland agricultural community. As a boy, John attended a one-room schoolhouse, played with the other kids down by the railroad tracks, splashed happily in the old swimming hole, and sang in the Methodist church choir, but showed little evidence of any inclination toward the academic side of business. On completing high school (1933), he worked for two years as a life insurance agent (a tough sell during the Great Depression) before attending the small two-year Blackburn College (the first in his family to pursue higher education) and then earning a B.S. in business (1939) and an M.S. in economic history (1941) at the University of Illinois (where he also successfully overcame a severe stuttering problem). After working briefly for the chamber of commerce and serving a stint in the Army's Ordnance Division during World War II (including a dangerous tour of duty at Okinawa), John took advantage of the GI Bill to pursue further graduate studies at Harvard, where he worked with Joseph Schumpeter and ultimately received his Ph.D. in economics (1952). His thesis dealt with British monopoly policy and gave birth to articles appearing in the Journal of Business (1954) and the Journal of Political Economy (1954).
- DOI
- 10.1086/322909
- Sources
- openalex