Adam Smith (5June 1723-17 July 1790) was a Scottish social philosopher and a pioneer of political ec
onomy. One
of the key figures of the Scottish Enlightenment,Smith is the author of the principles which lead an
d direct
philosophical enquiries, illustrated by the history of astronomy, prior to 1758, the theory of moral
sentiments,1759
and an inquiry into the nature and cause of the wealth of nations,1776. The latter ,usually abbrevia
ted as the wealth
of nations, is considered his magnum opus and first modern work of economics. Smith is cited as the
father of
modern economics and capitalism and is still among the most influential thinkers in the field of e
conomics today.
In 2009, Smith was named among the "Greatest Scots" of all time , in a vote run by Scottish televisi
on channel STV.
Smith studied social philosophy at the university of Glasgow and at Balliol College in the universit
y of Oxford ,where
he was one of the first students to benefit from scholarships set up by his fellow Glaswegian John
Snell. After graduating,
he delivered a successful series of public lectures at Edinburgh, leading him to collaborate with Da
vid Hume during
the Scottish Enlightenment. Smith obtained a professorship at Glasgow teaching moral philosophy, and
during this
time he wrote and published The Theory of Moral Sentiments. In his later life, he took a tutoring p
osition that allowed him
to travel throughout Europe, where he met other intellectual leaders of his day. Smith then returned
home and spent the
next ten years writing The Wealth Of Nations, publishing it in 1776, He died in 1790 at the age of 6
7.