William Cunningham (economist)

William Cunningham
Born(1849-12-29)29 December 1849
Edinburgh, Scotland
Died10 June 1919(1919-06-10) (aged 69)
Cambridge, England
Known forEstablishment of economic history in Britain
Spouse
Adèle Rebecca Dunlop
(m. 1876)
[1]
Ecclesiastical career
ReligionChristianity (Anglican)
ChurchChurch of England[2]
Ordained
  • 1873 (deacon)[3]
  • 1874 (priest)[3]
Offices held
Archdeacon of Ely (1907–1919)
Academic background
Alma mater
ThesisThe Influence of Descartes on Metaphysical Speculation in England (1876)
InfluencesF. D. Maurice[4]
Academic work
Discipline
Sub-disciplineEconomic history
School or traditionEnglish historical school of economics
Institutions
Notable studentsEllen McArthur[5]
Notable worksThe Growth of English Industry and Commerce (1882)
Influenced

William Cunningham FBA (29 December 1849 – 10 June 1919) was a Scottish economic historian and Anglican priest. He was a proponent of the historical method in economics and an opponent of free trade.

Early life and education

Cunningham was born in Edinburgh, Scotland,[8] the third son of James Cunningham, Writer to the Signet. Educated at the Edinburgh Institution (taught by Robert McNair Ferguson, amongst others),[9] the Edinburgh Academy, the University of Edinburgh, and Trinity College, Cambridge, he graduated BA in 1873, having gained first-class honours in the Moral Science tripos.[3][10]

Career

Cunningham took holy orders in 1873, later serving as chaplain of Trinity College, Cambridge, from 1880 to 1891.[11] 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, a post which he held until 1897.[12] He was lecturer in economic history at Harvard University (c. 1899), and Hulsean Lecturer at Cambridge (1885).[13] He became vicar of Great St Mary's, Cambridge, in 1887, and was a founding fellow of the British Academy.[2] In 1907 he was appointed Archdeacon of Ely.[14][15]

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.[16]

Cunningham's eminence as an economic historian gave special importance to his support of Joseph Chamberlain from 1903 onwards in criticizing the English free-trade policies and advocating tariff reform.

He was a critic of the nascent neoclassical economics, particularly as propounded by his colleague, Alfred Marshall, and the Cambridge school.

Cunningham has been described as "a champion of women's education in Cambridge."[17] He taught the British historian Annie Abram.

Cunningham died in 1919 in Cambridge, England.[2]

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); Cambridge, 5th ed. (1910) on line, McMaster
  • The Use and Abuse of Money, New York, Scribner's (1891); Kessinger, (2006) ISBN 1-4254-9423-4
  • William Cunningham (1897). Alien Immigrants to England. The Macmillan Co. alien immigrants to england.; Routledge (1997) ISBN 0-7146-1295-2
  • 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);[18] Cosimo ISBN 1-60520-115-4
  • Christianity and Politics, Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin (1915)
  • The Story of Cambridgeshire (1920). Cambridge University Press (reissued by Cambridge University Press, 2009; ISBN 978-1-108-00341-4)

See also

References

Footnotes

  1. ^ Koot 2004; Scott 1920, p. 4.
  2. ^ a b c Koot 2004.
  3. ^ a b c "Cunningham, William (CNNN869W)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  4. ^ Koot 2004; Scott 1920, p. 3.
  5. ^ Erickson 2018, p. 29.
  6. ^ Goldberg 2013, p. 193.
  7. ^ Berg 1996, p. 70.
  8. ^ Koot 2004; Scott 1920, p. 2.
  9. ^ Scott 1920, p. 2.
  10. ^ Chisholm 1911, p. 633.
  11. ^ Chisholm 1911, p. 633; Koot 2004.
  12. ^ Scott 1920, p. 8.
  13. ^ Koot 2004; Scott 1920, pp. 5, 7.
  14. ^ Chisholm 1911, pp. 633–634.
  15. ^ Bentley 2005, p. 185.
  16. ^ Chisholm 1911, p. 634.
  17. ^ Berg 1996, p. 8.
  18. ^ "Review of The Rise and Decline of the Free Trade Movement by W. Cunningham". The Oxford Magazine. 23. The Proprietors: 348. 24 May 1905. Archived from the original on 28 September 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2023.

Bibliography