Arthur Smithies (1907–81)

Abstract

Smithies was bom in Tasmania in 1907. He studied law at the University of Tasmania, read Politics, Philosophy and Economics as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford (1930–2) followed by a PhD at Harvard (1932–5). He taught at the University of Michigan (1934–43), then became a government servant at the Bureau of the Budget until he returned to academic life in 1948 in the economics department at Harvard. He was editor of the Quarterly Journal of Economics (1957–65) and a founder of the Journal of Economic Abstracts (1962), which later became the prestigious and useful Journal of Economic Literature. He died after a typically vigorous rowing session on the Charles at the age of 73.

Reprinted from John Eatwell, Murray Milgate and Peter Newman (eds), The New Pal grave. A Dictionary of Economics, vol 4, London, Macmillan, 1987, pp. 375–6.