Origins & Early Life

Fischer Sheffey Black, Jr. (January 11, 1938 – August 30, 1995) was an American economist, best known as one of the co-authors of the Black–Scholes option pricing model. He held academic positions at the University of Chicago and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, later working at Goldman Sachs. In addition to his work on option pricing, Black made important contributions to the development of the capital asset pricing model (CAPM).

Pivotal Works & Achievements

He also proposed ideas in monetary economics and in theories of the business cycle. Black died in 1995, at the age of 57. Two years after his death, the 1997 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences was awarded to his collaborator Myron Scholes and colleague Robert C. Merton for the development of the Black–Scholes model and its extension to a continuous-time framework. Because the prize is not awarded posthumously, Black was ineligible for the award.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

Fischer Sheffey Black, Jr was born on January 11, 1938 in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. He graduated from Harvard College with a major in physics in 1959. He was initially indecisive about a thesis topic for a Harvard PhD, having switched from physics to mathematics...

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• 1938 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1938
• January 11 (01-11) On This Day — Historical birthdays and events on January 11
• 1995 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1995
• August 30 (08-30) On This Day — Historical events and memorials on August 30