Profession: economist

Ricardo’s influence on the science of economics derives from barely a dozen years’ work. Ricardo was the most notable of the circle around Bentham, supporters of his utilitarian ideas. Wealthy from his stock-dealing, he was persuaded to publish his most important work by James Mill, a particularly close friend (John Stuart Mill, his precocious son, went for walks with their frequent visitor, and commented on Ricardo’s lack of abrasive pushiness, drawing a contrast with his father). Malthus, a friend and close associate of Ricardo, provided the stimulation of his oppositional views. De Quincey was a disciple, but it seems they never met.

He was one of the most noted contributors to Diderot and d’Alembert’s Encyclopédie, writing on etymology, physics and philosophy as well as economics. Condorcet was a protégé and long-term friend, while Voltaire became one of his main supporters, praising his translations from Virgil. Smith knew him from d’Holbach’s, became a close friend, and almost certainly owed some of his own ideas to conversations with him. Michel Turgot was his father, who as ‘mayor’ was responsible for a series of classic maps of Paris.