David Ricardo

(1772 - 1823)

Born in London to Sephardic Jews from the Netherlands, the third of seventeen children, David Ricardo grew up to become a famous Unitarian economist who married a Quaker, made a fortune on the London Stock Exchange, and dabbled in other interests including literature, chemistry, and geology. He was friends with Jeremy Bentham, Thomas Malthus, and John Stuart Mill’s father James. His most famous work is On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation.