1854 - Economist Richard Ely Born Today
On this date economist and author Richard Ely was born. Ely came to the University of Wisconsin in 1892, where he served as the head of the Economics Department until 1925. Ely, influenced by John Stuart Mill, studied labor unrest, agricultural economics, and the problems of rural poverty. An early leader of Christian socialism in America, he advocated public control of resources, prohibition of child labor, and the development of labor unions. Ely believed in government action to improve people's lives, and created the American Economic Association and the American Association for Labor Legislation. Ely was the mentor of Wisconsin's economist John Commons. [Source: Wisconsin Electronic Reader]