Henry Walcott Farnam (November 6, 1853 – September 5, 1933) was an American economist.

Background

The son of railroad executive Henry Farnam, he attended

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1874, and then studied towards a M.A. in Roman law and economics in 1876. Like many American economists of the late 19th century, Farnam then went to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

to study under the leading figures of the

German historical school :''This is an article about a school of thought in the area of law. For economics, see historical school of economics.'' The German Historical School of Jurisprudence is a 19th-century intellectual movement in the study of German law. With Romant ...

. Farnam earned a PhD from the

University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (french: Université de Strasbourg, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. The French university traces its history to the ea ...

in 1878.

Career

Farnam was professor of political economy at

from 1880 to 1918. In 1911, he served as president of the

American Economic Association The American Economic Association (AEA) is a learned society in the field of economics. It publishes several peer-reviewed journals acknowledged in business and academia. There are some 23,000 members. History and Constitution The AEA was esta ...

. In 1906, Farnam made of a gift of to be used for the erection of a new building for

Lowell House Lowell House is one of twelve undergraduate residential Houses at Harvard University, located at 10 Holyoke Place facing Mount Auburn Street between Harvard Yard and the Charles River. Officially, it is named for the Lowell family, but an orna ...

. The gift was the largest of its kind on record and would allow the settlement work to be conducted on a broader and more effective basis. Farnam was one of five Yale professors who, together with several women of

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

composed the Council of the organization. That same year, Farnam co-founded the

American Association for Labor Legislation The American Association for Labor Legislation, (AALL) (1906–1945) was an early advocacy group for national health insurance in the United States of America, conceived in 1905, established in 1906, active to 1943, and disbanded in 1945. John Ber ...

(AALL) with other economists.

References

External links

* * 1853 births 1933 deaths American economists Yale University alumni University of Strasbourg alumni Yale University faculty Fellows of the American Statistical Association Presidents of the American Economic Association {{US-economist-stub