Nassau Senior (1790-1864)

Abstract

Nassau Senior (1790-1864) was elected to the Drummond Professorship of Political Economy at the University of Oxford first, from 1825 to 1830, and again from 1847 to 1852. He also maintained a successful conveyancing practice. This chapter focuses on Senior's contributions to economic theory, the Corn Laws, the Poor Laws, population, emigration and education. His major roles in the development of the New Poor Law in England and in the discussions concerning pauperism in Ireland are explored, as well as his involvement in controversies over combinations, hand-loom weavers and factory legislation. The chapter also outlines Senior's contributions on foreign affairs for The Economist magazine, his extensive travels and his impressive legacy of domestic and foreign journals.