Smith, Adam 1723-1790
Archival location guide — where this economist’s surviving papers are held, their notable correspondents, and key published sources.
Born 1723 · died 1790
Adam Smith was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the field of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Seen by many as the "father of economics", or the "father of capitalism", he is primarily known for two classic works: The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759) and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776). The latter, often abbreviated as The Wealth of Nations, is regarded as his magnum opus, marking the inception of modern economic scholarship as a comprehensive system and an academic discipline. Smith refuses to explain the distribution of wealth and power in terms of divine will and instead appeals to natural, political, social, economic, legal, environmental and technological factors, as well as the interactions among them. The work is notable for its contribution to economic theory, particularly in its exposition of the concept of absolute advantage.
Read more on Wikipedia — summary CC BY-SA
Letters to and from Smith, 1740-1790, with fragments of notes, drafts, parts of lectures and also papers of his father. Bannerman collection, GULSC.
Notes from his lectures on jurisprudence, 1766. Also various single letters to and from Smith, GULSC.
The minutes of the Scottish Customs Board during the period of Smith's membership are in the Scottish Record Office, and there is a collection of relevant letters and accounts, assembled by James Bonar. GULSC
Ten letters to Smith, and five from him, 1775-1776, concerning the death of David Hume. Hume MSS., Royal Society of Edinburgh.
Printed Material
WILLIAM ROBERT SCOTT, Adam Smith as Student and Professor (Glasgow, 1937).
The Glasgow Edition of the Works and Correspondence of Adam Smith, 6 volumes, (Oxford, 1976-1987), volume VI contains the Correspondence of Adam Smith eds Ernest Campbell Mossner and Ian Simpson Ross
IAN SIMPSON ROSS, The Life of Adam Smith, ( Oxford, 1995)
New Palgrave; ODNB; ESS XIV 112; IESS XIV 322.
Portraits: BL(P); NPG; SNPG