What makes an economist famous? There are two basic criteria, and which are at times uncorrelated with each other: recognition by one's colleagues and recognition by the public at large. Among economists, being famous tends to translate in terms of the number of published works, along with the number of times such work is cited by other economists. Published work and citations are what drives, for example, the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics selection process. As Paul Samuelson once said, the only coin of worth among economists is the recognition by one's colleagues. Critics of economics have pointed to the insular nature of recognition criteria practiced by economists and have contended that all too often they write with an increasingly abstruse theoretical and mathematical jargon that ignores too many real world issues. As one economist once said when the empirical data did not fit well in a standard econometric model, "So much the worse for reality". Yet economists have exerted a powerful influence on the course of events over times and they have done so by translating what seems at times as overly abstract notions into concrete tools of understanding economic events, predicting future events, and guiding public policy. As a sampler, consider the following economists. Adam Smith (1723-1790) is famous for his Wealth of Nations (1776) in which he identified the role of specialization of resources and the role of free markets in raising living standards. David Ricardo (1772-1823) is famous for his vigorous defense of free trade based on the principle of comparative advantage put forth in his Principles of Political Economy and Taxation (1817). Karl Marx (1818-1883) is well known for his critique of capitalism's effects on the distribution of income described in his Das Kapital (1867). John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946) is well known for his defense of government intervention to ward off economic depession as put forth in his 1936 treatise, The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money. Joseph Schumpeter (1882-1950) is well known for his theory of entrepreneurship put forth in The Theory of Economic Development (1912). The list of famous economists is ultimately extensive for the ways in which they have shaped our perceptions and our sense of what is important in guiding the economy. If there is any doubt about the importance of economists, one need only recall the statement made by Keynes in The General Theory, "Madmen in authority, who hear voices in the air, are distilling their frenzy from some academic scribbler of a few years back. I am sure that the power of vested interests is vastly exaggerated compared with the gradual encroachment of ideas...But, soon or late, it is ideas, not vested interests, which are dangerous for good or evil." (pp. 383-384). The irony is that this statement now applies as much to Keynes himself as it did to the classical economists against wom he railed in The General Theory.

The Rolodex List of Economists (in honor of Irving Fisher, inventor of the rolodex)  While there are any number of famous living economists, we can simplify the task of selection for this list by including only those now longer alive. This upholds the spirit of the British historian Thomas Carlyle, who once characterized economics as "the dismal science", mainly for the sometimes difficult nature of the choices that economics compels us to consider. Since we have other links to other economists via the Nobel Prize winners in economics website, and via the Economists on the Internet website, our list thus speaks largely to the legacy of economic ideas outside of those listed elsewhere. We note further that as many of those listed here made contributions to fields other than economics, we can think of this list as contributors to the history of economic ideas. We include in this list those who worked in the field of statistics, many of whom would not be thought of in a grouping of economists. We do so because the somewhat parallel history of economics and statistics began to converge increasingly during the twentieth century. Lastly, this list should be considered as representative rather than exhaustive.
Economists Listed by Date of Birth	Economists Listed Alphabetically
Xenophon (440-355 B.C.) Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) Aquinas, St. Thomas (1225-1274) Oresme, Nicholas (1320-1382) More, Sir Thomas (1478-1535) Bodin, Jean (1530-1596) Mun, Thomas (1571-1641) Montchrétien, Antoine de (1575-1621) Malynes, Gerald de (1586-1641) Hobbes, Thomas (1588-1679) Misselden, Edward (1608-1654) Colbert, Jean Baptise (1619-1683) Petty, Sir William (1623-1687) Child, Sir Josiah (1630-1699) Locke, John (1632-1704) Vauban, Marshal Sébastien (1633-1707) North, Sir Dudley (1641-1691) Newton, Sir Isaac (1642-1727) Boisguillebert, Pierre le Pesant (1646-1714) Davenant, Charles (1656-1714) De Moivre, Abraham (1667-1754) Mandeville, Bernard de (1670-1733) Law, John (1671-1729) Cantillon, Richard (1680-1734) Montesquieu, Charles Louis de Secondat (1689-1755) Zincke, Georg Heinrich (1692-1768) Hutcheson, Francis (1694-1746) Quesnay, François (1694-1774) Bernouilli, Daniel (1700-1782) Bayes, Reverend Thomas (1702-1761) Hume, David (1711-1776) Steuart, Sir James (1712-1780) Mireabeau, Victor de Riqueti, Marquis de (1715-1789) De la Rivière, Mercier (1720-1794) Smith, Adam (1723-1790) Turgot, Robert Jacques (1727-1781) Galiani, Abbé (1728-1787) Borda, Jean Charles (1733-1799) du Pont de Nemours, Pierre Samuel (1739-1817) Condorcet, Marquis de (1743-1794) Bentham, Jeremy (1748-1832) Legendre, Adrien Marie (1752-1833) Godwin, William (1756-1836) Saint-Simon, Comte Henri de (1760-1825) Babeuf, François (1764-1797) Malthus, Thomas R. (1766-1834)  Say, Jean-Baptiste (1767-1832) Hegel, Georg Friedrich (1770-1831) Owen, Robert (1771-1858) Fourier, Charles (1772-1837) Ricardo, David (1772-1823) Sismondi, Jean Charles (1773-1842) Gauss, Carl Friedrich (1777-1855) Von Thünen, Johann Heinrich (1780-1850) Poisson, Siméon Denis (1781-1840) Hodgskin, Thomas (1787-1869) List, Friedrich (1789-1846) Senior, Nassau William (1790-1864) Carey, Henry Charles (1793-1879) Quetelet, Adolphe (1796-1874) Walker, Amasa (1799-1875) Bastiat, Frédéric (1801-1850) Cournot, Antoine Augustin (1801-1877) Dupuit, A.J.E. ( 1804-1866) Mill, John Stuart (1806-1873) Proudhon, Pierre-Joseph (1809-1865) Gossen, Hermann Heinrich (1810-1858) Hildebrand, Bruno (1812-1878) Blanc, Louis (1813-1882) Roscher, Wilhelm (1817-1894) Marx, Karl (1818-1883) Juglar, Clément (1819-1905) Knies, Karl Gustav (1821-1898) Bertrand, Joseph Louis François (1822-1900) Galton, Francis (1822-1911) Cairnes, John Elliot (1824-1875) Lassalle, Ferdinand (1825-1864) Bagehot, Walter (1826-1877) Perry, Arthur Latham (1830-1905) Walras, Marie Esprit Léon (1834-1910) Jevons, William Stanley (1835-1882) Wagner, Adolf (1835-1917) Schmoller, Gustav (1838-1917) George, Henry (1839-1897) Menger, Carl (1840-1921) Walker, Francis A. (1840-1897) Marshall, Alfred (1842-1924) Brentano, Ludwig Joseph (Lujo) (1844-1931) Wicksteed, Philip (1844-1927) Edgeworth, Francis Ysidro (1845-1926) Clark, John Bates (1847-1938) Pareto, Vilfredo (1848-1923) Böhm-Bawerk, Eugen (1851-1914) Wicksell, Johann Gustaf Knut (1851-1926) Wieser, Friedrich Freiherr von (1851-1926) Toynbeee, Arnold (1852-1883) Pearson, Karl (1857-1936) Veblen, Thorstein (1857-1929) Hobson, John A. (1858-1940) Commons, John R. (1862-1945) Cassel, Gustav (1866-1945) Fisher, Irving (1867-1947) Lenin, Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (1870-1924) Yule, George Udny (1871-1951) Mitchell, Wesley Clair (1874-1948) Young, Allyn (1876-1929) Hilferding, Rudolf (1877-1941) Pigou, Alfred Cecil (1877-1959) Hawtrey, Ralph G. (1879-1971) Heckscher, Eli F. (1879-1952) Slutsky, Evgeny Evgenievich (1880-1948) Mises, Ludwig von (1881-1973) Keynes, John Maynard (1883-1946) Schumpeter, Joseph A. (1883-1950) Knight, Frank H. (1885-1972) Hayek, Friedrich August von (1889-1992) Lindahl, Erik (1891-1960) Kondratieff, Nikolai Dimitri (1892-1938) Frisch, Ragnar (1895-1973) Hotelling, Harold (1895-1973) Myrdal, Gunnar (1898-1987) Kalecki, Michael (1899-1970) Ohlin, Bertil (1899-1979) Harrod, Roy F. (1900-1978) Kuznets, Simon (1901-1985) Morgenstern, Oskar (1902-1976) Tinbergen, Jan (1903-1994) Neumann, John von (1903-1957) Hicks, John R. (1904-1989) Kahn, Richard F. (1905-1989) Georgescu-Roegen, Nicholas (1906-1994) Meade, James E. (1907-1995) Nurkse, Ragnar (1907-1959) Kaldor, Nicholas (1908-1986) Koopmans, Tjalling C. (1910-1986) Kantorovich, Leonid (1912-1986) Lewis, Sir W. Arthur (1915-1990)	Aquinas, St. Thomas (1225-1274) Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) Babeuf, François (1764-1797) Bagehot, Walter (1826-1877) Bastiat, Frédéric (1801-1850) Bayes, Reverend Thomas (1702-1761) Bentham, Jeremy (1748-1832) Bernoulli, Daniel (1700-1782) Bertrand, Joseph Louis François (1822-1900) Blanc, Louis (1813-1882) Bodin, Jean (1530-1596) Boisguillebert, Pierre le Pesant (1646-1714) Böhm-Bawerk, Eugen (1851-1914) Borda, Jean Charles (1733-1799) Brentano, Ludwig Joseph (Lujo) (1844-1931) Cairnes, John Elliot (1824-1875) Cantillon, Richard (1680-1734) Carey, Henry Charles (1793-1879) Cassel, Gustav (1866-1945) Child, Josiah (163-1699) Clark, John Bates (1847-1938) Colbert, Jean Baptiste (1619-1683) Commons, John R. (1862-1945) Condorcet, Marquis de (1743-1794) Cournot, Antoine Augustin (1801-1877) Davenant, Charles (1656-1714) De la Rivière, Mercier (1720-1794) De Moivre, Abraham (1667-1754) du Pont de Nemours, Pierre Samuel (1739-1817) Dupuit, A.J.E. (1804-1866) Edgeworth, Francis Ysidro (1845-1926) Fisher, Irving (1867-1947) Frisch, Ragnar (1895-1973) Fourier, Charles (1772-1837) Galiani, Abbé (1728-1787) Galton, Francis (1822-1911) Gauss, Carl Friedrich (1777-1855) George, Henry (1839-1897) Georgescu-Roegen, Nicholas (1906-1994) Godwin, William (1756-1836) Gossen, Hermann Heinrich (1810-1858) Harrod, Roy F. (1900-1978) Hawtrey, Ralph G. (1879-1971) Hayek, Friedrich August von (1889-1992) Heckscher, Eli F. (1879-1952) Hegel, Georg Friedrich (1770-1831) Hicks, John R. (1904-1989) Hildebrand, Bruno (1812-1878) Hilferding, Rudolf (1877-1941) Hobson, John A. (1858-1940) Hobbes, Thomas (1588-1679) Hodgskin, Thomas (1787-1869) Hotelling, Harold (1895-1973) Hutcheson, Francis (1694-1746) Jevons, William Stanley (1835-1882) Juglar, Clément (1819-1905) Kahn, Richard F. (1905-1989) Kaldor, Nicholas (1908-1986) Kalecki, Michal (1899-1970) Kantorovich, Leonid (1912-1986) Keynes, John Maynard (1883-1946) Knies, Karl Gustav (1821-1898) Knight, Frank H. (1885-1972) Kondratieff, Nikolai Dimitri (1892-1938) Koopmans, Tjalling C. (1910-1986) Kuznets, Simon (1901-1985) Lassalle, Ferdinand (1825-1864) Law, John (1671-1729) Legendre, Adrien Marie (1752-1833) Lenin, Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (1870-1924) Lewis, Sir W. Arthur (1915-1990) Lindahl, Erik (1891-1960) List, Friedrich (1789-1846) Locke, John (1632-1704) Löwe, Adolph (1895-1995) Malthus, Thomas R. (1766-1834) Malynes, Gerald de (1586-1641) Mandeville, Bernard de (1670-1733) Marshall, Alfred (1842-1924) Marx, Karl (1818-1883) Meade, James E. (1907-1995) Menger, Carl (1840-1921) Mill, John Stuart (1806-1873) Mirabeau, Victor de Riqueti, Marquis de (1715-1789) Mises, Ludwig von (1881-1973) Misselden, Edward (1608-1654) Mitchell, Wesley Clair (1874-1948) Montchrétien, Antoine de (1575-1621) Montesquieu, Charles Louis de Secondat (1689-1755) More, Sir Thomas (1478-1535) Morgenstern, Oskar (1902-1976) Mun, Thomas (1571-1641) Myrdal, Gunnar (1898-1987) Neumann, John von (1903-1957) Newton, Sir Isaac (1642-1727) Nurkse, Ragnar (1907-1959) Ohlin, Bertil (1899-1979) Oresme, Nicholas (1320-1382) Owen Robert (1771-1858) Pareto, Vilfredo (1848-1923) Pearson, Karl (1857-1936) Perry, Arthur Latham (1830-1905) Petty, Sir William (1623-1687) Pigou, Arthur Cecil (1877-1959) Poisson, Siméon Denis (1781-1840) Proudhon, Pierre-Joseph (1809-1865) Quetelet, Adolphe (1796-1874) Quesnay, François (1694-1774) Ricardo, David (1772-1823) Roscher, Wilhelm (1817-1894) Saint-Simon, Comte Henri de (1760-1825) Say, Jean-Baptiste (1767-1832) Schmoller, Gustav (1838-1917) Schumpeter, Joseph A. (1883-1950) Senior, Nassau William (1790-1864) Sismondi, Jean Charles (1773-1842) Slutsky, Evgeny Evgenievich (1880-1948) Smith, Adam (1723-1790) Stackelberg, Heinrich von (1909-1946) Steuart, Sir James (1712-1790) Tinbergen, Jan (1903-1994) Toynbeee, Arnold (1852-1883) Yule, George Udny (1871-1951) Turgot, Robert Jacques (1727-1781) Vauban, Marshal Sébastien (1633-1707) Veblen, Thorstein (1857-1929) Wagner, Adolf (1833-1917) Walker, Francis A. (1840-1897) Walras, Marie Esprit Léon (1834-1910) Wicksell, Johann Gustaf Knut (1851-1926) Wicksteed, Philip (1844-1927) Wieser, Friedrich Freiherr von (1851-1926) Xenophon (440-355 B.C.) Young, Allyn (1876-1929)

Additional Links:  Michio Akama's E-text Links (Japan)  La Bibliohèque virtuelle de l'Université de Paris I (France) Documents for the History of Economics (Melbourne, Australia) The History of Economic Thought Website (The New School) McMaster University History of Economic Thought Archive (Canada) University of Cambridge Faculty History Electronic Texts (UC, U.K.) Economic History Services File Server (U.S.-U.K.) Westfall's List of Mathematicians (U.K.) Selected Bibliography Bell, John Fred. A History of Economic Thought, second edition.. (New York: The Ronald Press, 1967) Bernstein, Peter. Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk. (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1996, 1998). Blaug, Mark. Economic Theory in Retrospect, fifth edition. (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1997). Federal Reserve Board of San Francisco Schools of Economic Thought Website Oser, Jacob and William C. Blanchfield. The Evolution of Economic Thought, third edition. (New York: Harcourt Brace, 1975) Porter, Theodore M. The Rise of Statistical Thinking,1820-1900. (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1986) Rima, Ingrid Hahne. Development of Economic Analysis, third edition. (Homewood, Illinois: Richard D. Irwin, 1978) Robbins, Lionel. A History of Economic Thought, edited by Steven G. Medema and Warren J. Samuels. (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1998). Roll, Eric. A History of Economic Thought, fourth edition. (London: Faber Publishers,1973) Stigler, Stephen M. The History of Statistics. (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1986).