Origins & Early Life

Robert William Fogel (; July 1, 1926 – June 11, 2013) was an American economic historian and winner (with Douglass North) of the 1993 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. As of his death, he was the Charles R. Walgreen Distinguished Service Professor of American Institutions and director of the Center for Population Economics (CPE) at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business. He is best known as an advocate of cliometrics, an approach to history emphasizing the use of quantitative methods.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

Fogel was born on July 1, 1926, in New York City, the son of Ukrainian Jewish immigrants from Odessa (1922). His brother, six years his senior, was his main intellectual influence in his youth as he listened to him and his college friends intensely discuss social and economic issues of the Great Depression. He graduated from the Stuyvesant High School in 1944. Upon his graduation he found himself with a love for literature and history and aspired for a career in science, but due to an extreme pessimism about the economy in the second half of the 1940s, he shifted his interest towards economics. He was educated at Cornell University, where he majored...

Enduring Legacy & Impact

The historical impact and works continue to influence the modern world.

Contemporary Figures & Related Historical Timelines

• Abdus Salam — Contemporary (Born in 1926) (1926): Pioneering Pakistani theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate.
• Alfredo Di Stéfano — Contemporary (Born in 1926) (1926): Argentine and Spanish legend, 'The Blond Arrow,' pivotal to Real Madrid's golden era.
• Allen Ginsberg — Contemporary (Born in 1926) (1926): Pioneering American poet, central figure of the Beat Generation, known for 'Howl'.
• Bernadette Lafont — Contemporary (Died in 2013) (2013): Iconic French actress, celebrated for her role in the New Wave movement.
• Bobby Bland — Contemporary (Died in 2013) (2013): Pioneering blues and soul artist known for tempestuous arias of love and betrayal.
• Boris Berezovsky (businessman) — Contemporary (Died in 2013) (2013): Russian oligarch and businessman known for accumulating vast wealth through privatization.
• Babak Khorramdin — Shared historical date (07-01 · Born) (798): 9th-century Iranian revolutionary leader of the Khorram-Dinān rebellion.
• Baybars — Shared historical date (07-01 · Died) (1277): Mamluk Sultan who defeated the Mongols at Ain Jalut and crushed the Crusaders.
• Anna Akhmatova — Shared historical date (06-11 · Born) (1889): A seminal Russian poet whose work chronicled the trauma of the Soviet era.
• Ben Jonson — Shared historical date (06-11 · Born) (1572): Master dramatist of the English Renaissance, known for satire and comedy of humours.
• 1926 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1926
• July 1 (07-01) On This Day — Historical birthdays and events on July 1
• 2013 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 2013
• June 11 (06-11) On This Day — Historical events and memorials on June 11