William Cunningham | |
|---|---|
| | |
| Born | 29 December 1849 Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Died | 10 June 1919 (aged 69) Cambridge, England |
| Known for | Establishment of economic history in Britain |
| Spouse | Adèle Rebecca Dunlop (m. 1876) |
| Ecclesiastical career | |
| Religion | Christianity (Anglican) |
| Church | Church of England [2] |
| Ordained | |
Offices held | Archdeacon of Ely (1907–1919) |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | |
| Thesis | The Influence of Descartes on Metaphysical Speculation in England (1876) |
| Influences | F. D. Maurice [4] |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | |
| Sub-discipline | Economic history |
| School or tradition | English historical school of economics |
| Institutions | |
| Notable students | Ellen McArthur [5] |
| Notable works | The 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.
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]
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.
alien immigrants to england.; Routledge (1997) ISBN 0-7146-1295-2