George Whatley (died 1791) was an English lawyer, a friend and correspondent of Benjamin Franklin. He was also Vice President (1772–1779) and Treasurer (1779–1791) of the Foundling Hospital in London.[1]
Whatley was the author of Principles of Trade, published in 1774, which expounded the benefits of laissez faire economics, allied to free trade. Some sources claim Franklin co-authored the book with Whatley, while Franklin gives full credit to Whatley.[2] Jared Sparks in The Works of Benjamin Franklin 1840, credits Franklin for the notes: these are in the view of noted economist Jacob Viner, superior to the text.[3]
Whatley's portrait by an unknown painter is part of the Foundling Hospital art collection, at the Foundling Museum.[4]
Notes
edit- ^ Benedict Nicolson, "The Treasures of the Foundling Hospital," Clarendon Press, 1972, p. 60.
- ^ Franklin, Benjamin (1905). The Writings of Benjamin Franklin. Macmillan. p. 137.
- ^ Jacob Viner (1930). "Early English Theories of Trade". Journal of Political Economy: 404–57, footnote 97 for chapter 2. doi:10.1086/254122. S2CID 153464126.
- ^ Nicolson, Treasures of the Foundling Hospital, p. 60.
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