Watson, Thomas John, Jr. definition of Watson, Thomas John, Jr. in the Free Online Encyclopedia.

Watson, Thomas John, Jr., 1914–93, American industrialist, b. Dayton, Ohio. The son of Thomas John Watson Watson, Thomas John, 1874–1956, American industrialist and philanthropist, b. Campbell, N.Y. After rising from clerk to sales executive in the National Cash Register Co.
..... Click the link for more information. , Sr., the founder of the International Business Machines Corp. (IBM), he joined the family business following his graduation from Brown Univ. in 1937. Except for service as a pilot in the Army Air Corps during World War II, he spent the rest of his career at IBM, becoming company president (1952–61), chairman (1961–71), and chairman of the executive board (1972–79). Watson early recognized the importance of computers and maintained IBM's dominance in that and other advanced technologies, while his management and marketing prowess turned IBM into a symbol of corporate excellence. An advocate for the reduction of nuclear arms, he was (1979–81) U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union.

Bibliography

See his memoirs, Father, Son & Co. (1990).