Arthur Kittredge "Dick" Watson (April 23, 1919 – July 26, 1974) was an American businessman and diplomat. He served as president of

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

World Trade Corporation and United States Ambassador to France. His father, Thomas J. Watson, was IBM's founder and oversaw that company's growth into an international force from the 1920s to the 1950s. His brother Thomas J. Watson Jr. was the president of IBM from 1952 to 1971 and United States Ambassador to the Soviet Union.

Early life

Arthur K. Watson—known as "Dick" by his friends and colleagues—was born in

Summit, New Jersey Summit is the northernmost City (New Jersey), city of Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located within the New York metropolitan area. Situated on a ridge in north Jersey, northern–central Jersey, centra ...

. He attended The Hotchkiss School and

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

. Watson was a benefactor of the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

, serving as a trustee of the Museum and as a member of the Museum's Centennial committee. Watson was the Ambassador to France during the 1972 visit by Richard Nixon to China. Watson's meetings with his Chinese counterpart Huang Zhen in Paris helped to begin normalization of diplomatic relations before the countries had direct ambassadors. Arthur K. Watson died as a result of a fall on July 26, 1974, in New Canaan, Connecticut, at age 55.Arthur Watson dies
,

Computerworld ''Computerworld'' (abbreviated as CW) is a computer magazine published since 1967 aimed at information technology (IT) and Business computing, business technology professionals. Original a print magazine, ''Computerworld'' published its final pr ...

August 7, 1974 p. 29

's computer science building is named in his honor.

Sources

www-03.ibm.com

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Arthur K. 1919 births 1974 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American diplomats Accidental deaths from falls Accidental deaths in Connecticut Ambassadors of the United States to France Hotchkiss School alumni IBM employees People from Summit, New Jersey Yale University alumni