George Whatley (died 1791) was an English lawyer, a friend and correspondent of

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

. He was also Vice President (1772–1779) and Treasurer (1779–1791) of the Foundling Hospital in London. Whatley was the author of '' Principles of Trade'', published in 1774, which expounded the benefits of ''

laissez faire ''Laissez-faire'' ( ; from french: laissez faire , ) is an economic system in which transactions between private groups of people are free from any form of economic interventionism (such as subsidies) deriving from special interest groups. ...

'' economics, allied to

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econ ...

. Some sources claim Franklin co-authored the book with Whatley, while Franklin gives full credit to Whatley.

Jared Sparks Jared Sparks (May 10, 1789 – March 14, 1866) was an American historian, educator, and Unitarian minister. He served as President of Harvard College from 1849 to 1853. Biography Born in Willington, Connecticut, Sparks studied in the common s ...

in ''The Works of Benjamin Franklin'' 1840, credits Franklin for the notes: these are in the view of noted economist

Jacob Viner Jacob Viner (3 May 1892 – 12 September 1970) was a Canadian economist and is considered with Frank Knight and Henry Simons to be one of the "inspiring" mentors of the early Chicago school of economics in the 1930s: he was one of the leading fig ...

, superior to the text. Whatley's portrait by an unknown painter is part of the Foundling Hospital art collection, at the

Foundling Museum The Foundling Museum in Brunswick Square, London tells the story of the Foundling Hospital, Britain's first home for children at risk of abandonment. The museum houses the nationally important Foundling Hospital Collection as well as the Gerald ...

.Nicolson, ''Treasures of the Foundling Hospital,'' p. 60.

Notes

Year of birth missing 1791 deaths English lawyers {{UK-law-bio-stub