Norman Scott Brien Gras (1884–1956), known as N. S. B. Gras, was a Canadian professor at the

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

who invented the

academic discipline An academic discipline or academic field is a subdivision of knowledge that is taught and researched at the college or university level. Disciplines are defined (in part) and recognized by the academic journals in which research is published, a ...

business history Business history is a historiographical field which examines the history of firms, business methods, government regulation and the effects of business on society. It also includes biographies of individual firms, executives, and entrepreneurs ...

Early life

Gras was born in 1884 in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. He graduated from the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO; branded as Western University) is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thame ...

. He went on to receive a PhD in economics from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

Career

Gras taught economics at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

. Gras was appointed as Professor of Business History by Dean Wallace Brett Donham in 1927. He invented this new academic discipline, which only existed as his job title at the time. From the outset, Gras made sure to draw a distinction between economic history and business history. For Gras, economic history failed to focus on the role of the businessman as well as the role of business administration. Instead, the main goal of business history was to highlight those two components in the history of corporations and business developments. Gras served as the president of the

Business History Foundation Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit." A business entity is not necessaril ...

. He was the founder and editor of the '' Journal of Economic and Business History''. He was also the editor of the '' Harvard Studies of Business History''.

Works

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References

1884 births 1956 deaths People from Old Toronto University of Western Ontario alumni Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni University of Minnesota faculty Harvard Business School faculty Canadian emigrants to the United States 20th-century Canadian economists Business historians Fellows of the Medieval Academy of America {{Canada-historian-stub