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Herbert A. Simon
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Herbert A. Simon

Nobel-winning economist and AI pioneer who studied how people make decisions

15 June 1916 – 9 February 2001 United States Verified by our editors
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84 yrs
1916 – 2001
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3
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Herbert Simon was an American scholar whose work spanned economics, psychology, political science and computer science. He won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1978 for his research on decision-making and shared the Turing Award with Allen Newell for creating early artificial intelligence programs.

Biography

Early life

Simon grew up in Milwaukee and studied political science at the University of Chicago, earning his PhD in 1943. His thesis on how organisations make decisions became the book Administrative Behavior (1947).

Bounded rationality

Simon argued that people and firms do not optimise perfectly; with limited information and time they “satisfice”, choosing options that are good enough. This idea of bounded rationality changed economics and management, and earned him the 1978 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.

Artificial intelligence

At Carnegie Tech he worked with Allen Newell and Cliff Shaw on the Logic Theorist and the General Problem Solver, programs that modelled human reasoning. The pair shared the 1975 Turing Award for contributions to AI and the psychology of human cognition.

Legacy

Simon spent more than 50 years at Carnegie Mellon, helping to found its business school, its psychology department’s cognitive programme and its computer science work. He died in Pittsburgh in 2001.

Timeline

  1. 1916

    Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States

  2. 1943

    PhD from the University of Chicago

  3. 1947

    Publishes Administrative Behavior

  4. 1949

    Joins Carnegie Institute of Technology

  5. 1956

    Logic Theorist, with Newell and Shaw

  6. 1975

    Turing Award

  7. 1978

    Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences

  8. 1986

    National Medal of Science

  9. 2001

    Died, aged 84

Notable works

  • 1947

    Administrative Behavior Book

  • 1969

    The Sciences of the Artificial Book

  • 1972

    Human Problem Solving Book

    With Allen Newell.

Awards and honours

  • Turing Award

    1975

  • Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences

    1978

  • National Medal of Science

    1986

Did you know?

  1. 1

    He is one of very few people to have won both a Nobel Prize and a Turing Award.

  2. 2

    He learned several languages, including Chinese, late in life.

  3. 3

    He predicted in 1957 that a computer would beat the world chess champion — it happened in 1997.

Connections

Related people

Also born on 15 June

Frequently asked

Who is Herbert A. Simon?

Herbert Simon was an American scholar whose work spanned economics, psychology, political science and computer science. He won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1978 for his research on decision-making and shared the Turing Award with Allen Newell for creating early artificial intelligence programs.

When did Herbert A. Simon die?

Herbert A. Simon died on 9 February 2001 at the age of 84.

Where is Herbert A. Simon from?

Herbert A. Simon was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States.

What is Herbert A. Simon known for?

Herbert A. Simon is best known for Bounded rationality; co-founding AI; Nobel Prize in Economics 1978; Turing Award 1975.

What awards has Herbert A. Simon received?

Notable honours include Turing Award (1975), Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (1978), National Medal of Science (1986).

References

  1. Herbert A. Simon — Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
  2. Herbert A. Simon — Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
  3. Herbert A. Simon — Nobel Prize facts. NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
  4. Herbert A. Simon — Goodreads author page. Goodreads. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
  5. Herbert A. Simon — Hindi Wikipedia. Wikipedia (Hindi). Retrieved 4 November 2026.
  6. Herbert A. Simon (Q181529) — structured data. Wikidata. Retrieved 4 November 2026.

Includes material from the Wikipedia article “Herbert A. Simon”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. That text is available under the same licence. Learn more

External links

Wikipedia
Filed under Artificial intelligenceCarnegie Mellon UniversityNobel PrizeTuring Award Computer ScientistEconomistProfessorPsychologist

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“Herbert A. Simon.” TrackFame, last updated 4 November 2026. https://trackfame.com/person/herbert-a-simon

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