Harvard deaths

Several major Harvard figures passed away this year. The most prominent was Warburg Professor of Economics Otto Eckstein. who succumbed to a long bout with cancer in March Eckstein, who was 56, will be remembered by generations of Harvard undergraduates as the leader of Economics 10, later Social Analysis 10. "Principles of Economics." His colleagues will remember him as one of the early pioneers of economic forecasting. Eckstein was the founder of Data Resources Inc the largest forecasting firm in the world.

One of Harvard's most prominent Middle East specialists, Albert J. Meyer died of cancer in October at the age of 64 Meyer, an economist and specialist in the oil industry, had played a major role, in fundraising for the Center for Middle East Studies, obtaining large amounts of money from private corporations.

In December, two prominent scholars at Harvard graduate schools died. Stimson Professor of Law C. Clyde Ferguson, an authority on human rights and affirmative action, died at 59 of a heart attack. Ferguson had served as dein of Howard University Law School and U.S. ambassador to Uganda, and had held numerous other academic and diplomatic posts before joining the Law School faculty in 1975.

William J. Abernathy, the first Harding Professor of Management of Technology at the Business School, died after struggling with cancer for four years. Abernathy had spent the decade before his death studying the American automobile industry and became as one of its leading academic advisers and critics. He was 50.

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The year also saw the deaths of several Harvard undergraduates. In March. John P. Neumann '86, an Adams House sophomore, died after falling from the Criminal Courts Building in downtown Manhattan.

Shortly after Spring Break. Ru Selle D. Harwood '84, a Mather House resident, died after jumping from the seventh floor of the Mather tower. Harwood/had been a member of the Women's Club in Mather, active in Harvard Student Agencies, and a clarinetist in the band.

Dunster House resident Alice Y. Kiang '86 died after a long illness. An Applied Math concentrator who played piano in the Harvard Ensemble Society. Kiang suffered from a rare blood disease that attacked her immune system.

Bryan B. Jaffee '86. an Adams House resident, died of a heart attack suffered in front of Claverly Hall. A native of the Los Angeles area. Jaffee concentrated in Visual and Environmental Studies and was a member of the varsity water polo team.