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 Adam Smith (1723-1790) was the great Scottish philosopher and economist who is best known for his book The Wealth of Nations.

Raised by his widowed mother in Kirkcaldy, Smith won scholarships to Glasgow University and then Balliol College, Oxford. Returning to Glasgow, he was appointed Professor of Logic (1751), then Professor of Moral Philosophy (1752) and lectured on natural theology, ethics, jurisprudence and economics.

At the age of 36 he published The Theory of Moral Sentiments, a groundbreaking work on moral philosophy. His abilities caught the eye of the Duke of Buccleuch, who engaged him as Tutor to his son on the Grand Tour of Europe, where Smith met other eminent thinkers such as Voltaire, Rousseau, and Franklin.

Smith retired back to Kirkcaldy to write An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, published in 1776.

More about Adam Smith

Here are some other short biographies about Adam Smith and The Wealth of Nations.

A Modest Man Named Smith by Leo Rosten. From the author's 1970 book, People I Have Loved, Known or Admired, this is a highly engaging 4000-word portrait of Adam Smith's world, his life and character, and the impact of his great book The Wealth of Nations. It is a "clumsy, sprawling, elephantine book", says Rosten. "But if you were asked to list the six books that have most profoundly shaped our world, could you possibly miss it out?"

Adam Smith's Relevance for Today by Michael Forsyth MP. At an Adam Smith Institute lecture on the 200th anniversary of Smith's death in June 1790, Michael Forsyth MP (who later became Secretary of State for Scotland) gave this assessment of the relevance of Smith's principles for today's politicians.

The Triumph of Adam Smith by Dr Edward E Yardeni. The investment guru's super 16-page bicentenary article on Smith's view of morality (self-interest restrained by conscience) and economics (self-interest restrained by the market). What Smith is missing, he says, is a constitutional theory to show how self-interest in government can be restrained too - and it's a sad loss.

Account for the Life and Writings of Adam Smith LL.D by Dugald Stewart looks not only at his life but also at his work. There are in-depth sections on The Wealth of Nations and The Theory of Moral Sentiments. Whilst his life is looked at in a thorough manner. It was written shortly after Smith's death so calls on people who came into contact with Smith when he was alive and also the larger amounts of resources available then.