who is the academy award oscar named after
The origin of the name Oscar is disputed. One biography of Bette Davis, who was a president of the Academy, claims she named the Oscar after her first husband, band leader Harmon Oscar Nelson. Another claimed origin is the Academy's Executive Secretary, Margaret Herrick, first saw the award in 1931 and made reference to the statuette's reminding her of her "Uncle Oscar" (a nickname for her cousin Oscar Pierce). Columnist Sidney Skolsky was present during Herrick's naming and seized the name in his byline, "Employees have affectionately dubbed their famous statuette' Oscar'."