Edwin Cannan (1861–1935)

Edwin Cannan was appointed founding Professor of Political Economy at London School of Economics (LSE) in 1907, having taught at the School from 1895. He had earlier made his mark as a historical scholar of economics, most notably in editing an edition of Adam Smith’s Lectures in 1896 and then in 1904 editing a new edition of Smith’s Wealth of Nations that remained the standard work of reference until 1976. His sceptical, not to say combatively liberal, approach to economic analysis was a major factor in the creation of a distinct LSE style during the interwar years, conveyed to generations of students in his lectures on the principles of economics.