Randy Pausch, ‘Last Lecture’ Prof, Dies at 47
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James Joyner | Friday, July 25, 2008 |
Randy Pausch finally succumbed to pancreatic cancer this morning.
Randy Pausch, a Carnegie Mellon University computer scientist whose “last lecture” about facing terminal cancer became an Internet sensation and a best-selling book, has died. He was 47.
Pausch died early Friday at his home in Virginia, university spokeswoman Anne Watzman said. Pausch and his family moved there last fall to be closer to his wife’s relatives.
Pausch was diagnosed with incurable pancreatic cancer in September 2006. His popular last lecture at Carnegie Mellon in September 2007 garnered international attention and was viewed by millions on the Internet.
In it, Pausch celebrated living the life he had always dreamed of instead of concentrating on impending death. “The lecture was for my kids, but if others are finding value in it, that is wonderful,” Pausch wrote on his Web site. “But rest assured; I’m hardly unique.”
On the contrary. A sad loss.
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia.
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- Lair of the Green Knight linked with Farewell Randy Pausch
A true hero. I only wish if I were to face such a fate I could keep it as positive as he. My sorrows go out to the family who lost a good man.
Do you have a link to that final speech?
I saw his lecture and it really was moving, to think that he had such a positive outlook even knowing that death was over his shoulder he truly was an amazing person. His children will be better for having him as a father. His passing is a great loss for society.
For those interested, the link is here.
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