Jonathan Duncan (1799–1865), often referred to as "Jonathan Duncan, the younger", was a British advocate of reforming the monetary system.
He was born in
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
while his father (also called
Jonathan Duncan) was governor there. Following the death of Duncan, senior, in 1811,
Sir Charles Forbes acted as his guardian.
He graduated with a
B.A.
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
from
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...
in 1821.
In the years up to 1841, he wrote a number of history books about Russia, religious wars in France, and
Guernsey
Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency.
It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...
.
In 1846, he was editor of a newspaper called ''The Sentinel'', and presented a petition to
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
criticizing
Frederic Festus Kelly
Frederic Festus Kelly (died 3 June 1883) was a high official in the British Post Office. He was also the founder of Kelly & Co. (later Kelly's Directories Ltd.), which published the Kelly's Directory, a sort of Victorian-era "Yellow Pages" that l ...
, chief inspector of letter-carriers.
In 1846, he wrote the tract "How to reconcile the rights of property, capital, and labour" for the Currency Reform Association.
In 1847 he wrote a tract for the National Anti-Gold Law League, arguing that the size of the
circulation should be determined by supply and demand.
He opposed
bullionism
Bullionism is an economic theory that defines wealth by the amount of precious metals owned. Bullionism is an early or primitive form of mercantilism.{{Citation needed, date=October 2018 It was derived, during the 16th century, from the observation ...
and Sir
Robert Peel
Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was a British Conservative statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835 and 1841–1846) simultaneously serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer ...
's banking and monetary laws, and the monetary policies of
Samuel Jones-Loyd.
Other publications included "The Principles of Money demonstrated, and Bullionist Fallacies refuted" (1849) and "
The Bank Charter Act: ought the Bank of England or the People of England to receive the Profits of the National Circulation?" (1858).
From 1846 to 1853 he lived at No. 13 Chester Place, Kennington (this address was later known as 255 Kennington Road,
Lambeth
Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area expe ...
,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
).
[
]
References
Other
* Matthew, H.C.G., "Duncan, Jonathan, the younger (1799-1865)", in Matthew, H.C.G. & Harrison, B.H. (eds.), ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: In Association with the British Academy: from the Earliest Times to the Year 2000'', Oxford University Press, (Oxford), 2004.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan, Jonathan
1799 births
1865 deaths
Monetary reformers
British reformers