David Saul Landes (April 29, 1924 – August 17, 2013) was a professor of economics and of history at Harvard University.[1] He is the author of Bankers and Pashas, Revolution in Time, The Unbound Prometheus, The Wealth and Poverty of Nations, and Dynasties.[2] Such works have received both praise for detailed retelling of economic history, as well as scorn on charges of Eurocentrism, a charge he openly embraced, arguing that an explanation for an economic miracle that happened originally only in Europe must of necessity be a Eurocentric analysis.
David S. Landes | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 29, 1924 |
| Died | August 17, 2013 (aged 89) Haverford, Pennsylvania |
| Nationality | American |
| Academic career | |
| Institution | Harvard University |
| Field | Economic History |
| Alma mater | Harvard University City College of New York |
| Awards | Docteur honoris causa, Université de Lille, France, 1973 Docteur ès Sciences économiques et sociales, honoris causa, Université de Genève, Switzerland, 1990 Doctor, honoris causa, University of Ancona, 1990 Docteur ès Sciences économiques, Université de Neuchâtel, 1991 Docteur honoris causa, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule, Zurich, 1993 Doctor honoris causa, Bard College, 1999 Professor honoris causa, Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales, Jouy-en-Josas, 2000 |
Career
Landes earned a Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1953, after a B.A. from City College of New York in 1942.[3] While he waited his call-up to serve in World War II, Landes studied cryptanalysis. He was assigned to the Signal Corps, where he worked on deciphering Japanese coded messages.[4]
Historian Niall Ferguson called him one of his "most revered mentors".[5]
Landes was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences,[6] the United States National Academy of Sciences,[7] and the American Philosophical Society.[8]
His son Richard Landes is a historian and author.[9]
Works
- Landes, David S. (2007). Dynasties: Fortunes and Misfortunes of the World's Great Family Businesses: Why Some Are So Rich and Some So Poor. New York: Viking. ISBN 978-0-670-03338-6.
- Landes, David S. (1998). The Wealth and Poverty of Nations: Why Some Are So Rich and Some So Poor. New York: W.W. Norton. ISBN 0-393-04017-8.
- Landes, David S. (1983). Revolution in Time. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-00282-2.
- Landes, David. S. (1969). The Unbound Prometheus: Technological Change and Industrial Development in Western Europe from 1750 to the Present. Cambridge, New York: Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge. ISBN 0-521-09418-6.
- Landes, David S., Bankers and Pashas: International Finance and Economic Imperialism in Egypt (1958) [1]
See also
References
External links
- Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa (ASMEA)
- Landes, David S. (2006). "Why Europe and the West? Why Not China?". Journal of Economic Perspectives. 20 (2): 3–22. doi:10.1257/jep.20.2.3.