William Cunningham (29 December 184910 June 1919) was a Scottish

economic historian Economic history is the academic learning of economies or economic events of the past. Research is conducted using a combination of historical methods, statistical methods and the application of economic theory to historical situations and inst ...

and

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

priest. He was a proponent of the

historical method Historical method is the collection of techniques and guidelines that historians use to research and write histories of the past. Secondary sources, primary sources and material evidence such as that derived from archaeology may all be drawn o ...

in economics and an opponent of

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econo ...

Early life and education

Cunningham was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, Scotland, the third son of James Cunningham, Writer to the Signet. Educated at the Edinburgh Institution (taught by

Robert McNair Ferguson Robert McNair Ferguson (1829–1912) was a Scottish mathematician and a founder of the Edinburgh Mathematical Society. Life and work He was born on 8 July 1829, the son of John Ferguson, a pawnbroker, and his wife, Elisabeth Cochran. He ...

, amongst others), the

Edinburgh Academy The Edinburgh Academy is an Independent school (United Kingdom), independent day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in the city's New Town, Edinburgh, New Town, is now part of the Se ...

, the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, and

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 ...

, he graduated BA in 1873, having gained

first-class honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...

in the Moral Science tripos.

Career

Cunningham took holy orders in 1873, later serving as chaplain of Trinity College, Cambridge, from 1880 to 1891. He was university lecturer in history from 1884 to 1891, in which year he was appointed Tooke Professor of Economy and Statistics at

King's College, London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

, a post which he held until 1897. He was lecturer in economic history at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

(), and

Hulsean Lecturer The Hulsean Lectures were established from an endowment made by John Hulse to the University of Cambridge in 1790. At present, they consist of a series of four to eight lectures given by a university graduate on some branch of Christian theology. ...

at Cambridge (1885). He became vicar of

Great St Mary's, Cambridge St Mary the Great is a Church of England parish and university church at the north end of King's Parade in central Cambridge, England. It is known locally as Great St Mary's or simply GSM to distinguish it from " Little St Mary's". It is one of t ...

, in 1887, and was a founding

fellow of the British Academy Fellowship of the British Academy (FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are: # Fellows – scholars resident in the United Kingdom # C ...

. In 1907 he was appointed

Archdeacon of Ely The Archdeacon of Cambridge is a senior ecclesiastical officer in the Diocese of Ely. The archdeacon is responsible for some clergy discipline and pastoral care in the Archdeaconry of Cambridge. The archdeaconry has existed, as the Archdeaconry of ...

. Cunningham's ''Growth of English Industry and Commerce During the Early and Middle Ages'' (1890; 4th ed., 1905) and ''Growth of English Industry and Commerce in Modern Times'' (1882; 3rd ed., 1903) were at the time among the standard works of reference on the industrial history of England. Cunningham's eminence as an economic historian gave special importance to his support of

Joseph Chamberlain Joseph Chamberlain (8 July 1836 – 2 July 1914) was a British statesman who was first a radical Liberal, then a Liberal Unionist after opposing home rule for Ireland, and eventually served as a leading imperialist in coalition with the Cons ...

from 1903 onwards in criticizing the English

free-trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econo ...

policies and advocating

tariff reform The Tariff Reform League (TRL) was a protectionist British pressure group formed in 1903 to protest against what they considered to be unfair foreign imports and to advocate Imperial Preference to protect British industry from foreign competitio ...

. He was a critic of the nascent

neoclassical economics Neoclassical economics is an approach to economics in which the production, consumption and valuation (pricing) of goods and services are observed as driven by the supply and demand model. According to this line of thought, the value of a good ...

, particularly as propounded by his colleague,

Alfred Marshall Alfred Marshall (26 July 1842 – 13 July 1924) was an English economist, and was one of the most influential economists of his time. His book '' Principles of Economics'' (1890) was the dominant economic textbook in England for many years. I ...

, and the Cambridge school. Cunningham has been described as "a champion of women's education in Cambridge." He taught the British historian

Annie Abram Annie Abram (1869–1930) was a British historian of medieval life. She was made a Royal Historical Society fellow in 1911. Life Abram was born in Clerkenwell in 1869 and her mother died shortly afterwards. Abram went to study and take the tr ...

. Cunningham died in 1919 in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, England.

Works

* ''Growth of English Industry and Commerce in Modern Times: The Mercantile System'' (1882)
Cambridge U. Press, revised 7th ed. (1907) on line, McMaster
* ''Politics and Economics: An Essay on the Nature of the Principles of Political Economy, Together with a Survey of Recent Legislation,'' London, Kegan, Paul, Trench & Co. (1885) * ''Growth of English Industry and Commerce During the Early and Middle Ages'' (1890)

''The Use and Abuse of Money'', New York, Scribner's (1891)
Kessinger, (2006) * ; Routledge (1997) * ''An Essay on Western Civilization in Its Economic Aspects (Ancient Times)'', Cambridge U. Press (1898)
''An Essay on Western Civilization in Its Economic Aspects (Mediaeval and Modern Times)''
Cambridge U. Press (1900)
''The Rise and Decline of the Free Trade Movement''
(1904); Cosimo
''Christianity and Politics''
Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin (1915) * ''The Story of Cambridgeshire'' (1920). Cambridge University Press (reissued by

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press A university press is an academic publishing hou ...

, 2009; )

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cunningham, William 1849 births 1919 deaths 19th-century Scottish Episcopalian priests 19th-century British historians 19th-century British male writers 19th-century British economists 20th-century Scottish Episcopalian priests 20th-century British historians 20th-century British male writers 20th-century British economists Academics of King's College London Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Anglican scholars Archdeacons of Ely Converts to Anglicanism from Presbyterianism Economic historians English historical school of economics Fellows of the British Academy Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge Harvard University staff People educated at Edinburgh Academy People educated at Stewart's Melville College Presidents of the Cambridge Union Presidents of the Royal Historical Society