Henry Simons’s Death

In spite of disagreement over whether or not Henry Simons committed suicide, no one has written about the circumstances surrounding his death. The purpose of this essay is to draw from archival material—much of which has been recently unearthed—to examine Simons’s death in detail. This essay enriches the debate over the nature of Simons’s death by offering an account that brings together evidence that sheds light on the circumstances surrounding it. This evidence suggests that a grave disappointment Simons faced the day before he died contributed to his death and helps explain why Simons’s colleagues who asserted that he committed suicide waited nearly forty years before doing so. The article concludes by offering an interpretation of the archival evidence.