- The Washington Post
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Alexander L. Morton, transportation economist, dies at 70
By Bart Barnes, Published: November 14
Alexander L. Morton, a Harvard-trained transportation economist who one day gave up his career for what he called a “joyous but chaotic” life of travel and ad*ven*ture, died Oct. 12 at his home in Washington. He was 70.
He died of a brain tumor, said his sister, Janice M. Berger.
At 42, Mr. Morton was well on pace in the ascension of his chosen career ladder. He had a doctorate in economics from Harvard, had taught at the Harvard Business School and was finishing a four-year assignment as director the office of policy and analysis at the Interstate Commerce Commission.
He then quit.
He had made enough money in real estate deals and investments to guarantee an independent income for himself. For his remaining 28 years, he was almost constantly on the move, visiting dozens of countries and often going off the expected paths from Western travelers.
On bicycle, he pedaled the length of the four main islands of Japan. He hiked in the Himalayan mountains, explored the game preserves of Africa, followed the headwaters of the Mekong River into Vietnam, climbed Mount Sinai at dawn and rode a train from Moscow to Beijing. On the spur of the moment, he once set out to climb Mont Blanc in the Alps, and he reached the summit wearing only sneakers as footgear.
On his far-flung journeys, Dr. Morton rarely had a fixed itinerary, according to a traveling companion, John Harbert, a physician who taught at Georgetown University Medical School and served at the National Institutes of Health.