Earl Jefferson Hamilton (1899 – 7 May 1989) was an American
historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...
, one of the founders of
economic history
Economic history is the study of history using methodological tools from economics or with a special attention to economic phenomena. Research is conducted using a combination of historical methods, statistical methods and the Applied economics ...
, and a prominent
hispanist
Hispanism (sometimes referred to as Hispanic studies or Spanish studies) is the study of the literature and culture of the Spanish-speaking world, principally that of Spain and Hispanic America. It may also entail studying Spanish language an ...
.
Biography
Hamilton was born in
Houlka, Mississippi
New Houlka (), also referred to simply as Houlka, is a town in Chickasaw County, Mississippi, United States. It was founded in 1904 to take advantage of a railway line of the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad. Residents moved their buildings over fr ...
.
He was married to Gladys Dallas Hamilton, and had one daughter, Sita Hamilton. Earl and Gladys did extensive research on the economic history of
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
.
He was professor of
Duke University
Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...
from 1927 to 1944;
Northwestern University
Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...
from 1944 to 1947, and the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
from 1947 to 1967. The
State University of New York
The State University of New York (SUNY ) is a system of Public education, public colleges and universities in the New York (state), State of New York. It is one of the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, larges ...
appointed him ''Distinguished Professor of Economic History'' (1966–1969). Editor of ''
Journal of Political Economy
The ''Journal of Political Economy'' is a monthly peer-reviewed academic journal published by the University of Chicago Press. Established by James Laurence Laughlin in 1892, it covers both theoretical and empirical economics. In the past, the ...
'' for seven years. President of ''Economic History Association'' (1951–1952).
His major contribution was the history of prices in Spain: the concept of Price Revolution in the 16th century. The work of Hamilton was coincident intellectually with keynesianism and contemporary crisis of 1929. He started his work on this topic within the International scientific committee on price history, within which he was responsible for Spain.
[Julien Demade, ''Produire un fait scientifique. Beveridge et le Comité international d'histoire des prix'', Paris, Publications de la Sorbonne, 2018, p. 57. .
]
He died on May 7, 1989.
Works
* ''American Treasure and the Price Revolution in Spain, 1501-1650'' Harvard Economic Studies, 43. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1934.
* ''Money, prices and wages in Valencia, Aragon and Navarre, 1351-1500'' Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1936
* ''War and Prices in Spain, 1651-1800'' Cambridge, Massachusetts Harvard University Press, 1947
See also
* ''A Program for Monetary Reform'' (1939)
References
External links
''Earl J. Hamilton Papers on the Economic History of Spain 1351-1830'' Duke University.
University of Chicago.
Asociación Española de Historia Económica.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Earl J.
20th-century American historians
American male non-fiction writers
American Hispanists
1989 deaths
1899 births
American economic historians
People from Chickasaw County, Mississippi
20th-century American male writers
Journal of Political Economy editors