1875-1967
Prognosticator

Speculator, Forecaster.

Roger W. Babson, a market speculator, gained fame as one of the few — including Joseph P. Kennedy — who forecast the market crash in 1929. He is often regarded as the "father" of the long line of market prognosticators, newsletter publishers, and other purveyors of financial information who have flourished over the years.

Symbol.

In many ways Babson was symbolic of the extravagant era. He had been around Wall Street for years, but his background was never clear. He claimed to be an educator, philosopher, theologian, statistician, economist, and forecaster; he was clearly something of a con man. His forecasting methods, which involved charts, graphs, intersecting lines, and other hocus-pocus, were mysterious.

Predictions.

Earlier in the decade Babson had predicted that if New York governor Alfred E. Smith were elected president in 1928, there would almost certainly be a serious depression, and on 5 September...