Lawrence W. Fertig (b. 1898 – d. 1986) was an American advertising executive and a
libertarian
Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...
journalist and economic commentator.
Fertig wrote a weekly column for the ''
New York World-Telegram
The ''New York World-Telegram'', later known as the ''New York World-Telegram and The Sun'', was a New York City newspaper from 1931 to 1966.
History
Founded by James Gordon Bennett Sr. as ''The Evening Telegram'' in 1867, the newspaper began ...
'' and the ''
New York Sun
''The New York Sun'' is an American online newspaper published in Manhattan; from 2002 to 2008 it was a daily newspaper distributed in New York City. It debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of the earlier New York ...
''.
["Obituary: Lawrence Fertig". '']New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
''. 28 October 1986
/ref> Fertig also wrote the 1961 Regnery Publishing
Regnery Publishing is a politically conservative book publisher based in Washington, D.C. The company was founded by Henry Regnery in 1947, and is now a division of radio broadcaster Salem Media Group. It is led by President & Publisher Thomas Sp ...
offering, ''Prosperity Through Freedom''.
He was the founder of Lawrence Fertig & Company, a New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
advertising and marketing firm.Hoover Institution
The Hoover Institution (officially The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace; abbreviated as Hoover) is an American public policy think tank and research institution that promotes personal and economic liberty, free enterprise, and ...
maintains an archive of Fertig's papers in Stanford, California
Stanford is a census-designated place (CDP) in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States. It is the home of Stanford University. The population was 21,150 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census.
Stanford is ...
.
His brother was New York City lawyer and New York State Assemblyman M. Maldwin Fertig.
Education
After receiving an undergraduate degree from New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
, Fertig attended Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
, where he completed a master's degree in economics.[ Buckley Jr., William F. "Lawrence Fertig, RIP – obituary". ''National Review''. 21 November 1986. ]
Economic commentary
After attending the 1944 Bretton Woods conference
The Bretton Woods Conference, formally known as the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference, was the gathering of 730 delegates from all 44 Allied nations at the Mount Washington Hotel, situated in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, Unite ...
on behalf of the Scripps-Howard
The E. W. Scripps Company is an American broadcasting company founded in 1878 as a chain of daily newspapers by Edward Willis "E. W." Scripps and his sister, Ellen Browning Scripps. It was also formerly a media conglomerate. The company is he ...
newspapers, Fertig wrote a weekly syndicated column on financial and political matters and continued to do so until the closure of their New York daily, the ''World Journal Tribune
The ''New York World Journal Tribune'' (''WJT'', and hence the nickname ''The Widget'') was an evening daily newspaper published in New York City from September 1966 until May 1967. The ''World Journal Tribune'' represented an attempt to save th ...
'', in 1967.American Jewish League Against Communism
The Joint Committee Against Communism, also known as the Joint Committee Against Communism in New York, was an anti-communist organization during the 1950s.
Origins
Benjamin Schultz of Rochester, New York, had studied under Rabbi Stephen S. ...
.[
]
Sponsorship of Ludwig von Mises
Fertig, was a member of the NYU board of trustees and was instrumental in supporting his friend Ludwig von Mises
Ludwig Heinrich Edler von Mises (; 29 September 1881 – 10 October 1973) was an Austrian School economist, historian, logician, and Sociology, sociologist. Mises wrote and lectured extensively on the societal contributions of classical liberali ...
when the economist fled Europe to the United States during the rise of the Third Reich
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
. Fertig paid part of Mises' salary himself when Mises began teaching at Fertig's alma mater. Referring to Mises' visiting professorship at NYU, economist Murray Rothbard
Murray Newton Rothbard (; March 2, 1926 – January 7, 1995) was an American economist of the Austrian School, economic historian, political theorist, and activist. Rothbard was a central figure in the 20th-century American libertarian m ...
said: "NYU's support for Mises was grudging, and only came about because advertising executive and NYU alumnus Lawrence Fertig, an economic journalist and close friend of Mises and Hazlitt, exerted considerable influence at the university."
The Mises Institute
Ludwig von Mises Institute for Austrian Economics, or Mises Institute, is a libertarian nonprofit think tank headquartered in Auburn, Alabama, United States. It is named after the Austrian School economist Ludwig von Mises (1881–1973).
It wa ...
, founded in 1982 in honor of Ludwig von Mises, credits Fertig as being instrumental in its creation and development. The institute offers a Lawrence Fertig memorial prize to the author whose work "best advances economic science in the Austrian tradition.""Mises Institute Awards". ''Mises.org''
/ref>
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fertig, Lawrence
1898 births
1986 deaths
American libertarians
Austrian School economists
Mises Institute people
Columbia University alumni