biography
| name: |
Watson, Thomas (John), Jr
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| sex:
| male
|
| lived:
| (1914–93)
|
| biography:
| Business executive, born in Dayton, Ohio, USA. The son of the founder of International Business Machines (IBM), he joined the firm in 1937, then served with the US Air Force in World War 2 (1941–5). During the late 1940s, his father began grooming him to take over IBM, and he became convinced that the company should enter the computer market. He was named president of IBM (1952–61), and he placed the company at the centre of the industry. As chairman (1961–71) he committed IBM to a new line of computers in 1962, the S/360s, which revolutionized the industry. He was chairman of the executive committee (1971–9) and remained active at IBM into the 1980s, with two years out (1979–81) to serve as US ambassador to the Soviet Union. |
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