In sadness, we note the death of Paul Miranti Jr. in January 2022. Paul Miranti received his PhD from the Johns Hopkins University and spent much of his career at Rutgers University, joining the faculty in 1981 and in 2002 becoming a full professor at Rutgers Business School. A pioneer historian of finance and accounting, he also made significant contributions to the history of technology, especially of Bell Telephone. He was coauthor with Jonathan Barron Baskin of A History of Corporate Finance, a seminal book in that field. In a 1991 review of Paul's book Accountancy Comes of Age: The Development of an American Profession, 1886–1940, the reviewer noted the broad reach of the study: “the book is worthwhile not only for those interested in the history of accountancy, but also as a guide for anyone interested in analyzing the impact of associations within other professions” (Business History Review 65, no. 1 [1991]: 179).
Paul was a frequent contributor to Business History Review, writing articles and book reviews and serving as a referee on numerous occasions. His colleagueship, and his thoughtful comments, technical knowledge, and detailed research, will be missed. His contributions to Business History Review include the following articles and book reviews:
“Associationalism, Statism, and Professional Regulation: Public Accountants and the Reform of the Financial Markets, 1896–1940,” vol. 60, no. 3 (1986): 438–68.
“The Mind's Eye of Reform: The ICC's Bureau of Statistics and Accounts and a Vision of Regulation, 1887–1940,” vol. 63, no. 3 (1989): 469–509. Newcomen Award in Business History for the best article appearing in the Business History Review in 1989.
“Corporate Learning and Traffic Management at the Bell System, 1900–1929: Probability Theory and the Evolution of Organizational Capabilities,” vol. 76, no. 4 (2002): 733–65.
“Corporate Learning and Quality Control at the Bell System, 1877–1929,” vol. 79, no. 1 (2005): 39–72.
“Chandler's Paths of Learning,” vol. 82, no. 2 (2008): 293–300.
“Innovation's Golden Triangle: Finance, Regulation, and Science at the Bell System, 1877–1940,” vol. 90, no. 2 (2016): 277–99.
Book reviews:
German Professions, 1800–1950, ed. Cocks, Geoffrey and Jarausch, Konrad H. (Oxford, 1990), in vol. 65, no. 3 (1991): 711–13.
The Costing Heritage: Studies in Honor of S. Paul Garner, ed. Finley Graves, O. (Academy of Accounting Historians, 1991), in vol. 66, no. 3 (1992): 603–5.
Shifting the Burden: The Struggle over Growth and Corporate Taxation, by Martin, Cathie J. (Chicago, 1991), in vol. 67, no. 4 (1993): 673–76.
Local Authority Accounting Methods: Problems and Solutions, 1909–1934, ed. Coombs, Hugh M. and Edwards, J. R. (Garland, 1992), in vol. 68, no. 3 (1994): 444–45.
Alternative Tracks: The Constitution of American Industrial Order, 1865–1917, by Berk, Gerald (Johns Hopkins, 1994), in vol. 69, no. 2 (1995): 234–38.
Structuring the Information Age: Life Insurance and Technology in the Twentieth Century, by Yates, JoAnne (Johns Hopkins, 2005), in vol. 80, no. 2 (2006): 335–40.
Out of the Pits: Traders and Technology from Chicago to London, by Zaloom, Caitlin (Chicago, 2006), in vol. 81, no. 4 (2007): 820–22.
Financial Reporting and Global Capital Markets: A History of the International Accounting Standards Committee, 1973–2000, by Camfferman, Kees and Zeff, Stephen A. (Oxford, 2007), in vol. 83, no. 2 (2009): 414–16.
