26 Adam Smith Father of Economics Interesting Fun Facts

(Last Updated On: April 16, 2021)

Born in 1723, Adam Smith was a social thinker and political economist from Scotland who’s broadly thought to be the known as ”The Father of Economics” or ”The Father of Capitalism”. for laying the foundations of the new-age economic system.

Adam Smith facts

His most essential work, The Wealth of Nations, is taken into account as one of the influential books ever written. Adam Smith was absent-minded and had a peculiar personality resulting in many attention-grabbing incidents in his life.

He hated to be captured in portraits attributable to which just a few portraits of him have been created throughout his lifetime. Due to his monumental contribution in shaping the modern world, Adam Smith has been honored in varied methods.

Among different issues, he was the first Scotsman to characteristic on an English banknote and a celestial body was named after him. Here are some attention-grabbing facts about Adam Smith.

1. His religious views stay a thriller up to now

Numerous debate has been undertaken amongst historians in regards to the religious inclination of Smith. While his father showcased a robust affinity in direction of Christianity, Smith has been thought-about by some to be a deist, believing within the existence of a God on the proof of cause and nature solely.

However, this viewpoint is contested attributable to the truth that his writings by no means explicitly point out God as a proof of nature. At the identical time, some students at a later level have gone on to magnify Smith’s dedication in direction of God.

Moreover, some authors argue that Smith’s social and economic philosophy is theological in nature. In reality, they are saying that his total model of social order is derived from a logical standpoint of God’s position in nature. Due to those varied viewpoints, no conclusion about his religious beliefs could also be thought-about ultimate.

2. Smith was a voracious reader

While this befits his stature and will not come as a shock, Smith was additionally identified to be a voracious reader. In reality, his personal library consisted of about 1500 books spanning varied topics.

Naturally, this made him have an unimaginable command of the English language, a lot in order that he was identified for his acute consideration to grammar, even in Greek. On the opposite hand, Smith was additionally adept within the discipline of philology.

3. He was on the verge of publishing two more books

In the later years of his life, Smith had been planning to publish two more main treatises. One on the speculation and history of regulation and one other about sciences and humanities.

These works have been sadly interrupted attributable to his demise. Some more writings that have been revealed after his loss of life embody Essays on Philosophical Subjects and A History of Astronomy.

Smith’s ideas about historical physics and metaphysics have been additionally revealed, which gave insights into what the treatise on sciences and humanities would have included.

4. He has a celestial body named after him

Interestingly, Adam Smith additionally has a celestial body named after him, 12838 Adamsmith. It is a stony Koronis asteroid that was found on March ninth 1997 by Belgian astronomer Eric Walter Elst at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in northern Chile. The authorized naming quotation for the asteroid was revealed by the Minor Planet Center on 30th July 2007.

5. His work has additionally been criticized

Although his writings have been effectively obtained all through the world, there have additionally been some exceptions. Alfred Marshall, an esteemed economist, actively criticized Smith’s definition of economy.

The Invisible Hand is a well-known concept of Smith during which he states that every particular person in pursuing his personal egocentric good was led as if by an invisible hand, to realize probably the most helpful economic final result for all.

However, one other eminent economist Joseph E. Stiglitz went on to say that “the reason that the invisible hand often seems invisible is that it is often not there.”

6. Adam Smith was identified to have a peculiar personality

Many of Smith’s contemporaries and biographers have described him to have a comical personality. He is claimed to have peculiar habits of speech and gait.

Interestingly, he was additionally identified to speak to himself, which could have been the results of a childhood when Smith would bask in imaginary mates. Along with this, Smith was additionally identified to have bouts of imaginary sicknesses.

7. His lack of brilliance was thought-about the explanation for his success

Although Smith’s work was criticized by Joseph Schumpeter for an absence of technical rigor, he additionally argued that Smith’s very limitation acted as a precursor for his success since his work appealed to wider viewers.

He even went on to say that had Smith been more sensible or had he dug deeper into his topics, he wouldn’t have been taken significantly.

8. He didn’t like himself to be captured in portraits

Smith was not a fan of portraits and infrequently sat down for one. Hence, nearly all depictions of him have been drawn from reminiscence.

He has been described as an individual who “had a large nose, bulging eyes, a protruding lower lip, a nervous twitch, and a speech impediment”. Smith was conscious of his shortcomings and acknowledged this with the quote “I am a beau in nothing but my books”.

9. Adam Smith was the first Scotsman to characteristic on an English banknote

Since Smith’s writings formed the British imperial debates within the 19th century and acted as a vital ingredient within the overturning of the Corn Laws, Smith has at all times been thought-about as an eminent determine within the UK.

He was commemorated within the nation on banknotes printed by two banks. This consists of his portrait on £50 notes issued by the Clydesdale Bank in Scotland since 1981. In 2007, Smith additionally appeared on £20 payments issued by the Bank of England. This made Smith the first Scotsman to look on an English banknote.

10. The gold and silver cash metaphor

In his evaluation of economics, Smith used this metaphor: “The gold and silver money which circulates in any country may very properly be compared to a highway, which, while it circulates and carries to market all the grass and corn of the country produces itself not a single pile either.” It was a part of his concept of the unfairness of labor and division of wealth.

11. He was shy in front of a painter.

Smith wasn’t a good-looking man, and as soon as claimed, “I am a beau in nothing but my books”. Others have callously described him as having “a large nose, bulging eyes, a protruding lower lip, (and) a nervous twitch.”

Is it actually any marvel that he didn’t wish to sit for hours at a time to have his portrait made. So he didn’t sit for hours at a time.

Most depictions that we see of Adam Smith at this time are painted from the reminiscence of the artist, reasonably than from a person seated right in front of them, an attention-grabbing reality about Adam Smith.

12. Theory of morals

In Smith’s concept of morals, the notion of sympathy is distinguished and logical, whereas, in his later work on the speculation of economics, it hardly seems, giving approach to the idea of self-interest as a substitute.

13. Traded lectures

By the time Smith left Glasgow in 1764, college students had traded notebooks stuffed together with his lectures. One of them is now a preserved manuscript.

14. He was quirky

Biographers have described Smith as attention-grabbing, with a number of the economist’s colleagues referring to his peculiar habits. There are reviews that Smith talked to himself, and in his youthful days, he had imaginary mates. But who didn’t?

Some biographers recommend that he might have additionally been a hypochondriac—diagnosing himself with sicknesses he didn’t have, and creating new sicknesses that match his fleeting signs, an amusing reality about Adam Smith.

15. He by no means went public together with his religious beliefs.

Historians have probed this a part of Smith’s life for many years. Smith’s father was a Christian, however, some consider that the youthful Smith didn’t subscribe to Christianity. He might have been a deist—which means he believed that God created the world, however, has remained largely detached from it since then.

Others have argued towards this, stating that his social and economic philosophy has some theological basis. Others have been identified to magnify his religious place. If we put aside the varied interpretations of Smith’s work, one factor is evident: he by no means publically mentioned his faith.

16. Oxford pal

Smith made just one pal at Oxford: John Douglas, who distinguished himself as a pamphleteer.

17. Foundation for the great thing about the imitated

According to Smith, the disparity between actuality and imitations is the inspiration for the great thing about the imitated. In a try and show this, he referred to statues and mirrors, saying that great sculptors and painters by no means used deception. Critics claimed his style was defective.

18. He was simply distracted by his personal thoughts.

Politician Charles Townshend—who established the Townshend Acts credited as one of many triggers for the American Revolution—as soon as instructed a narrative of a tour he took with Smith.

The tour of a canning manufacturing facility was Smith’s concept, however as they have been strolling the grounds, the economist wandered right into a tanning pit and needed to be rescued.

He’s additionally identified to have put bread and butter in a teapot. He continued to drink his ‘tea’ nonetheless and declared it the worst cup of tea he ever had.

He can also be mentioned to have wandered 15 miles from dwelling in his nightgown, too lost in thought to show back.

19. There is an asteroid named after him

The attention-grabbing reality about Adam Smith is that he has an asteroid named after him, the 12838 Adamsmith. The Koronis asteroid, found March ninth, 1997, was found by Eric Walter Elst. Elst is a Belgian astronomer, who at the time was working from La Silla Observatory in Chile. He submitted a utility to name the asteroid and was authorized in July 2007.

20. The father of economics learn. Lots

It comes as no shock that somebody of his intelligence level would learn lots. His contemporaries–David Hume, Benjamin Franklin, Francois Quesnay—have been all well-read.

But Adam Smith went the additional mile. His personal library alone held 1,500 books. He was identified to have good grammar and spelling, and a very good command of English, Greek, and Philology.

21. Acute consideration of grammar

Smith was identified for his acute consideration of grammar, even in Greek, and reminiscence for philology.

22. Letter to mom

While, at Oxford, the one writing Smith did was letters to his mom, between 1740 and 1746. His essays have been disappointing, and in 1743 he wrote in a single letter, “I am just recovered from a violent fit of laziness, which has confined me to my elbow-chair these three months.”

23. He had critics

Adam Smith is acknowledged as the daddy of modern economics and the driving power behind lots of the economic buildings in use at this time. But nonetheless, he had critics. One of probably the most well-known was Alfred Marshall, who was vocal in his criticism of Smith’s definition of economy.

He was additionally criticized by Joseph E. Stiglitz for his work in The Invisible Hand, with the latter stating at a public meeting, “the reason that the invisible hand often seems invisible is that it is not there.”

24. He didn’t know his birthday

Adam Smith was born in Kircaldy, Scotland, and baptized in June 1723. There was no document of his beginning. His father handed away shortly after his beginning, and he was raised by his mom.

When he was 14 years old, Smith enrolled at the University of Glasgow and studied philosophy below Francis Hutcheson. He went on to post-graduate research at Oxford University. This is an attention-grabbing reality about Adam Smith.

25. He had two more books within the works

Adam Smith is arguably most well-known for 2 written works: The Theory of Moral Sentiments and The Wealth of Nations. The latter would finally develop into a touchstone within the growth of modern economics.

The book explored ideas nonetheless in use at this time—ideas around a free market economy. His views around permitting an economy to self-regulate without interference by the federal government have been ground-breaking.

In his later life, Smith had two more books within the pipeline. One explored the speculation and history of regulation, and the opposite was targeted at sciences and humanities. When Smith died, a lot of his works have been revealed as essays or particular person articles.

26. He was hilariously absent-minded

Smith was so absent-minded that it usually made him a sufferer of hilarious incidences. Once whereas Smith took British politician Charles Townshend on a tour of a tanning manufacturing facility, he fell right into a tanning pit and wanted to be rescued.

He is even reported to have put bread and butter in a teapot as soon as. Comically, he additionally drunk the concoction and declared it to be the worst cup of tea he ever had.

In one other comparable incident, Smith was so distracted in his ideas as soon as that he went out strolling in his nightgown, solely to finish up 15 miles outdoors city.