Adam Smith

AKA:
The Father of Economics
Birth Name:
Adam Smith
Birth Date:
June 16, 1723
Birth Place:
Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland
Death Date:
July 17, 1790
Place of Death:
Panmure House, Edinburgh, Scotland
Age:
67
Cause of Death:
Decay
Cemetery Name:
Canongate Kirkyard
Claim to Fame:
Business and Finance
Adam Smith, a graduate of the University of Glasgow and at Balliol College, Oxford, was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Also known as "The Father of Economics" or "The Father of Capitalism" he wrote two classic works, The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759) and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776). The latter, often abbreviated as The Wealth of Nations, is considered his magnum opus and the first modern work of economics. Upon his death, he was laid to rest at Canongate Kirkyard in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Fun Fact

Adam Smith has been described as someone who “had a large nose, bulging eyes, a protruding lower lip, a nervous twitch, and a speech impediment”. Smith is said to have acknowledged his looks at one point, saying, “I am a beau in nothing but my books.” Therefore Smith rarely sat for portraits and so almost all depictions of him created during his lifetime were drawn from memory.

Cemetery Information:

Final Resting Place:

Canongate Kirkyard

153 Canongate

Edinburgh, , EH8 8BN

Scotland

Europe

Map:

Cemetery map of Canongate Kirkyard in Edinburgh Scotland

Grave Location:

Adam Smith Crypt

Grave Location Description

Across the street from the Edinburgh Museum is the entrance to the Canongate Kirk (Presbyterian Church). Standing in front of the church look to your left and walk 50 feet to the crypt of the Father of Economics, Adam Smith.

Grave Location GPS

55.95158763731476, -3.179891535719773

Photos:

[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]

FAQ's

Adam Smith was born on June 16, 1723.

Adam Smith was born in Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland.

Adam Smith died on July 17, 1790.

Adam Smith died in Panmure House, Edinburgh, Scotland.

Adam Smith was 67.

The cause of death was Decay.

Adam Smith's grave is in Canongate Kirkyard

Read More About Adam Smith:

Videos Featuring Adam Smith:

See More:

Cyrus West Field

popular name: Cyrus West Field

date_of_death: July 12, 1892

age: 72

cause_of_death: Natural causes

claim_to_fame: Business and Finance

best_know_for: Cyrus Field (1819-1892) spearheaded the mission to lay the first telegraphic cable across the Atlantic Ocean. As the head of a paper company, he amassed wealth that he used to finance his idea of the transatlantic cable. Leading the Atlantic Telegraph Company, he arranged for the British and American naval ships Agamemnon and Niagara to lay the cable. On August 16, 1858, the first transatlantic message was sent from Queen Victoria to President Buchanan. The cable stopped working three weeks later. In 1866, the Great Eastern successfully laid a functioning and more durable cable across the Atlantic. In later years, he supported other trans-ocean cables from Hawaii to Asia and Australia.

Jay Gould

popular name: Jay Gould

date_of_death: December 2, 1892

age: 56

cause_of_death: Tuberculosis

claim_to_fame: Business and Finance

best_know_for: Jay Gould was an American railroad magnate and financial speculator who is generally identified as one of the original Robber Barons of the Gilded Age. His sharp and often unscrupulous business practices made him one of the wealthiest men of the late nineteenth century. Gould made his fortune by controlling the price of the stocks he bought as well as the stock market itself. He traded in the stocks of his own companies, using banks he was associated with to finance his speculations, all the while bribing legislators and judges. From 1867 to 1872 he was a power and a terror on Wall Street. Gould was an unpopular figure during his life so much so that his funeral was sparsely attended. The Jay Gould mausoleum can be found at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, New York.

Alva Vanderbilt Belmont

popular name: Alva Vanderbilt Belmont

date_of_death: January 26, 1933

age: 80

cause_of_death: Natural Causes

claim_to_fame: Business and Finance

best_know_for: Alva Vanderbilt Belmont was a prominent multi-millionaire American socialite and a major figure in the American women's suffrage movement. She was noted for her energy, intelligence, strong opinions, and willingness to challenge convention. In 1909, she founded the Political Equality League to get votes for suffrage-supporting New York State politicians, wrote articles for newspapers, and joined the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). She was married twice, first to William Kissam Vanderbilt, with whom she had three children, and secondly to Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont; both men were millionaires and members of socially prominent families in New York City. Alva was known for her many building projects, including: the Petit Chateau in New York; the Marble House in Newport, Rhode Island; the Belmont House in New York; Brookholt in Long Island; and Beacon Towers in Sands Point, New York.

Back to Top