George Pryme (4 April 1781 – 2 December 1868) was a British

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

, academic and politician. Pryme was born in 1781 in Cottingham,

East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, often abbreviated to the East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, S ...

, the only surviving child of merchant Christopher Pryme and his wife, Alice Dinsdale. Following the death of his father, Pryme and his mother moved to

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

, where he attended private schools until he returned to East Riding of Yorkshire to attend

Hull Grammar School Hull Grammar School was a secondary school in Hull, England, founded around 1330 and endowed in 1479 by the prelate John Alcock. In 1988, as part of a restructure by the Local Education Authority, the site was renamed William Gee School. In 19 ...

in 1796. In 1799, Pryme entered

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, winning a scholarship there in 1800 and graduating with a

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in 1803. In 1804, he began studying law at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

, and was

called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1806, practising in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

until health problems forced him to return to Cambridge in 1808.T. A. B. Corley
‘Pryme, George (1781–1868)’
''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

'',

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, 2004, accessed 21 April 2009. In 1816, Pryme began conducting lectures on

political economy Political or comparative economy is a branch of political science and economics studying economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and national economies) and their governance by political systems (e.g. law, institutions, and government). Wi ...

at Cambridge – the first teaching of such a topic at any English university, and in that same year his lectures were published as a book entitled ''A Syllabus of a Course of Lectures on the Principles of Political Economy''.

Murray Milgate Murray Milgate (born 1950), is an Australian-born academic economist and Sometime Fellow and director of studies in economics at Queens' College, Cambridge, where he is now a Life Fellow. He is the co-creator and co-editor of the celebrated ori ...

'A Neglected Bicentenary: George Pryme’s Lectures on Political Economy'
''Contributions to Political Economy'', 2016, vol. 35, issue 1, 1-22. In 1828, he was made Professor of Political Economy by the university senate, although a chair was not established for the topic at Cambridge until just before his retirement.The Pryme Library of Economics at Cambridge University
''Journal of Political Economy'', Vol. 37, No. 3, June 1939. He was politically active, and successfully opposed parliamentary candidates sponsored by the

Duke of Rutland Duke of Rutland is a title in the Peerage of England, named after Rutland, a county in the East Midlands of England. Earldoms named after Rutland have been created three times; the ninth earl of the third creation was made duke in 1703, in whos ...

, and eventually winning a seat in the

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representing

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as a Whig in 1832. Pryme worked hard in the parliament, pushing for university reform at

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

and Cambridge until his poor health prompted his family to urge his retirement from parliament in 1841. He returned to Cambridge and bought an estate in Wistow while continuing to lecture and practice as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

on occasion. He died in 1868. In 1870, his memoirs were published, ''Autobiographic Recollections of George Pryme'', edited by his daughter Alicia Bayne.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pryme, George 1781 births 1868 deaths English economists English barristers UK MPs 1832–1835 UK MPs 1835–1837 UK MPs 1837–1841 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Whig (British political party) MPs for English constituencies Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge Members of Lincoln's Inn People from Cottingham, East Riding of Yorkshire Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Professors of Political Economy (Cambridge)