News organizations and titles: Writer of syndicated column "Everybody's Money," for several years starting in 1958; columnist, Hearst Newspapers and Hearst's International News Service, 1927-57; financial editor, New York Tribune, 1920-23; financial editor, New York Evening Journal, 1923-26; teacher, Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, 1918-35. Lectured widely in the United States and Europe.
Legacy: Mr. Rukeyser got his marching orders from William Randolph Hearst, who told him to "humanize and simplify" financial news, which he did for nearly all his professional life. He saw himself, principally, as a teacher of financial matters.
Journalistic Progeny: Sons William Rukeyser, the first managing editor of Money and, later, managing editor of Fortune, and Louis Rukeyser, host of "Wall Street Week with Louis Rukeyser," where the elder Rukeyser appeared as a guest. Two other sons, Merryle Jr., known as Bud, and Robert, held corporate public relations positions.
Personal: Born Jan. 3, 1897, in Chicago; died Dec. 21, 1988, in White Plains, N.Y.
Family: Married twice, to Berenice Simon, then to Marjorie Leffler, who died in 1974. Four sons, William, Louis, Merryle Jr. and Robert.
Books: Nine, including "The Common Sense of Money and Investment," 1924; "Investment and Speculation," 1938; and "Financial Security in a Changing World," 1940.
Education: Columbia University.
What he has said about himself: When a New York Times obituary got him confused with his second wife and reported him as dead, he quipped: "It doesn't help with your lecture dates if people think you are dead."