Adam Smith

(1723 – 1790) Scottish philosopher and political economist. Known today mainly for his treatise on the economy, The Wealth of Nations (1776), which promoted economic liberalism (leaving everything to the "invisible hand" and not interfering by means of laws).

Biography of Adam Smith

The Scottish, moral philosopher and political economist Adam Smith was born in Kirkcaldy, Scotland on the 16th of June in 1723. He matriculated to study at the University of Glasgow in 1737 at the early (for that time not unusual) age of fourteen. He studied logic, metaphysics, maths as well as Newtonian physics and moral philosophy under some of the leading scholars of his time. In 1740 Smith was awarded a scholarship to study at Balliol College, Oxford. Between 1748 and 1751 he lectured at Edinburgh University (rhetoric, writing and progress of opulence). Smith returned to Glasgow University as Professor of Logic in 1751 and a year later as Professor of Moral Philosophy, a post he held until he left academia in 1764. Smith left academia in order to accompany the young Henry Scott, 3rd Duke of Buccleuch and stepson to Charles Townshend, as a tutor on his "Grand Tour" through Europe (1764-1766). This was not only a post that would secure Smith an annual pension of 300 Pounds Sterling but in addition to that Smith would meet many personalities that would influence his works profoundly such as National Economist Anne Robert Jacques Turgot, François Quesnay,Voltaire and David Hume. Smith most famous works are the Theory of Moral Sentiments, which appeared in 1759 and drew on his lectures, and The Wealth of Nations, which was published in 1776. He moved to Edinburgh when he was appointed commissioner of customs in Scotland in 1778. From 1787 to 1789 he occupied the honorary position of Lord Rector of the University of Glasgow. Adam Smith died in Edinburgh on the 17th of July in 1790 due to a painful illness and was buried in the Canongate Kirkyard. On his death bed he expressed personal disappointment that he had not achieved more.

Key Arguments and Themes of Adam Smith

Generally it should be noted that Adfam Smithwas one of the key figures of the Scottish Enlightenment and that he is widely cited as the father of modern economics and capitalism.

Sources

http://www.universitystory.gla.ac.uk/biography/?id=WH0016&type=P

http://www.gla.ac.uk/about/history/fame/adamsmith/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Smith

http://www.biografiasyvidas.com/monografia/smith/