When was adam smith born

Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Your Money. Personal Finance. Your Practice. Popular Courses. Economy Economics. Key Takeaways Adam Smith was an 18th-century Scottish economist, philosopher, and author, and is considered the father of modern economics. Smith is most famous for his book, "The Wealth of Nations.

Article Sources. Investopedia requires writers to use primary sources to support their work. These include white papers, government data, original reporting, and interviews with industry experts.

We also reference original research from other reputable publishers where appropriate. You can learn more about the standards we follow in producing accurate, unbiased content in our editorial policy.

Compare Accounts. The offers that appear in this table are from partnerships from which Investopedia receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where listings appear. Investopedia does not include all offers available in the marketplace. Related Articles. Economics Who Created Economics? Partner Links. Self-interest refers to actions that elicit personal benefit.

Economist Adam Smith studied self-interest and its positive influence on the economy. Classical Growth Theory Definition Classical growth theory is an older theory that describes economic growth as a result of the division of labor and the gains from trade.

Invisible Hand Definition The invisible hand is a metaphor for how, in a free market economy, self-interested individuals can promote the general benefit of society at large. Rational Choice Theory Definition Rational choice theory says individuals rely on rational calculations to make rational choices that result in outcomes aligned with their best interests. Both works were published posthumously. In , Smith was named rector of the University of Glasgow, and he died just three years later, at the age of We strive for accuracy and fairness.

If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! Subscribe to the Biography newsletter to receive stories about the people who shaped our world and the stories that shaped their lives. John Smith was a British soldier who was a founder of the American colony of Jamestown in the early s. Jazz and blues vocalist Bessie Smith's powerful, soulful voice won her countless fans and earned her the title "Empress of the Blues.

It was written not for merchants, but for legislators. His last decade was consumed by his government position, although he continually revised his Theory of Moral Sentiments and considered philosophical questions. In , at the age of 67, Smith died a bachelor in Edinburgh, having lived modestly while quietly donating most of his money to charity. On his deathbed, he asked that his unpublished papers be burned, except for those that would become his Essays on Philosophical Subjects , published posthumously in His attention, it seems, was taken up with considering the principles and history of political economy—a project that would occupy Smith from until , culminating in the publication of his magisterial work, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations WN.

First page, first edition of Wealth of Nations, Wikimedia Commons In , Smith resigned his Professorship at Glasgow in order to travel to Continental Europe as the tutor of the young nobleman, the Duke of Buccleuch. In the fall of , Smith left the Continent for London with the Duke of Buccleuch, where he remained for several months before returning home to Kirkcaldy to live with his mother until Although Stewart describes these as years as period of retirement, it would be mistaken to think of them as a time of idleness, irrespective of however contented Smith was to be home; for it is during these years that Smith began to draft the bulk of WN, which he completed in London in Although WN was well received by the public, Smith was somewhat distracted from its initial reception by the declining health and death, on the 25 th of August, , of his friend and philosophical compatriot, David Hume.

A few days before his death, Smith gave orders to his friends and executors to destroy all of his unpublished manuscripts. Smith died on July 17, , leaving posterity with those penetrative and magnificent published works of his genius that he did see fit to sanction as worthy of public consumption and preservation.

Instructor Log In. Adam Smith. Wealth of Nations.