Thomas Southcliffe Ashton (1889–1968) was an English

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 ins ...

. He was professor of economic history at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 milli ...

at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

from 1944 until 1954, and

Emeritus Professor ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

until his death in 1968. His best known work is the 1948 textbook ''The Industrial Revolution (1760–1830)'', which put forth a positive view on the benefits of the era. He donated money to provide the T. S. Ashton Prize, an annual award from the Economic History Society. The prize is currently £750 and is awarded at every other annual conference to the author of the best article accepted for publication in the ''

Economic History Review ''The Economic History Review'' is a peer-reviewed history journal published quarterly by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the Economic History Society. It was established in 1927 by Eileen Power and is currently edited by Sara Horrell, Jaime Reis ...

'' in the previous two calendar years. Following a BBC Freedom of Information request in January 2012, it was revealed that Ashton turned down a knighthood in 1957.

Educational career

Ashton was educated at the

Ashton-under-Lyne Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. The population was 45,198 at the 2011 census. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the north bank of the River Tame, in the foothills of the Pennines, east of Manche ...

secondary school and

Manchester University , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

. His academic career was focused on economics and public finance. Ashton was Assistant Lecturer in Economics at the

Sheffield University , mottoeng = To discover the causes of things , established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions: – Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield , type = Pu ...

from 1912 to 1919, and from 1919 to 1921, he was Lecturer and Tutor at

Birmingham University , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

. In 1921, he was appointed Senior Lecturer in Economics at Manchester University. Eventually, he became Dean of the Faculty of Commerce and Administration and served in this capacity from 1938 to 1944. He then became professor of economic history at the London School of Economics where he served from 1944 to 1954. In 1951 he was elected a Fellow of the

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars s ...

. In 1954 he gave the

Ford Lectures The Ford Lectures, technically the James Ford Lectures in British History, are an annual series of public lectures held at the University of Oxford on the subject of English or British history. They are usually devoted to a particular historical ...

at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. He was president of both the

Manchester Statistical Society The Manchester Statistical Society is a learned society founded in 1833 in Manchester, England. It has a distinguished history, having played an important part in researching economic and social conditions using social surveys. It continues to ...

(1938–1940) and the

Economic History Society The Economic History Society (EHS) is a learned society that was established at the London School of Economics in 1926 to support the research and teaching of economic history in the United Kingdom and internationally. The society also acts as a ...

(1960–1963). His publications cover the economy of the 18th century and include the iron, steel and coal industries: * ''Iron and Steel in the Industrial Revolution'' (1924) * ''The Coal Industry'' (with Joseph Sykes) (1929) * ''Economic and Social Investigations in Manchester 1833–1933'' (1934) * ''An Eighteenth-Century Industrialist: Peter Stubs of Warrington 1756 – 1806'' (1939) * ''The Industrial Revolution (1760–1830)'' (1948, 1997
online edition
* ''An Economic History of England: the Eighteenth Century'' (1955
online edition
* ''Economic Fluctuations in England 1700–1800'' (1959) * ''English Overseas Trade Statistics 1697–1808'' (1960), by E. B. Schumpeter, edited by T. S. Ashton

References

External links

Economic History Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashton, Thomas Southcliffe 1889 births 1968 deaths Academics of the London School of Economics Academics of the University of Manchester Academics of the University of Sheffield Alumni of the University of Manchester English economists Economic historians