David S. Landes | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 29, 1924 |
| Died | August 17, 2013 (aged 89) Haverford, Pennsylvania |
| Nationality | United States |
| Institution | Harvard University |
| Field | Economic History |
| Alma mater | Harvard University City College of New York |
| Awards | Docteur honoris causa, Université de Lille, France, 1973 Docteur ès Sciences économiques et sociales, honoris causa, Université de Genève, Switzerland, 1990 Doctor, honoris causa, University of Ancona, 1990 Docteur ès Sciences économiques, Université de Neuchâtel, 1991 Docteur honoris causa, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule, Zurich, 1993 Doctor honoris causa, Bard College, 1999 Professor honoris causa, Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales, Jouy-en-Josas, 2000 |
David Saul Landes (April 29, 1924 – August 17, 2013) was a professor of economics and of history at Harvard University.[1] He is the author of Bankers and Pashas, Revolution in Time, The Unbound Prometheus, The Wealth and Poverty of Nations, and Dynasties.[2] Such works have received both praise for detailed retelling of economic history, as well as scorn on charges of Eurocentrism, a charge he openly embraced, arguing that an explanation for an economic miracle that happened originally only in Europe must of necessity be a Eurocentric analysis.
Landes earned a Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1953 and an B.A. from City College of New York in 1942.[3] While he waited his call up to serve in World War II, Landes studied cryptanalysis. He was assigned to the Signal Corps where he worked on deciphering coded Japanese messages.[4]
Historian Niall Ferguson called him one of his "most revered mentors".[5]
Landes had a scholarly disagreement with Stephen Marglin over the Industrial Revolution.[citation needed]
His son is Richard Landes, the American historian and author, an associate professor in the Department of History at Boston University.[6]