Online Library of Liberty - Anniversaries of Note in 2011: People

the sesquicentenial (150th) of the birth of the English economist Edwin Cannan (1861-1935)
the bicentennial (200th) of the birth of the English advocate of free trade John Bright (1811-1889)
the semiquincentennial (250th) of the birth of Swiss-American politician and diplomat Albert Gallatin (1761-1849)
the tricentennial (300th) of the birth of Scottish philosopher and historian David Hume (1711-1776)
the quatercentenary (400th) of the birth of the English Republican political theorist James Harrington (1611-1677)
the quatercentenary (400th) of the birth of the English theorist of the Parliamentary cause during the English Civil War, Henry Ireton (1611-1651)
the seminonacentennial (450th) of the birth of the English philosopher and scientist Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626)

1. The sesquicentenial (150th) of the birth of the English economist Edwin Cannan (1861-1935)
	Edwin Cannan (1861-1935) is most frequently honored for his scholarly edition of Adam Smith’s An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. He also wrote on production and distribution, capital, money, and the history of economics. His influences and contemporaries included W. S. Jevons, Alfred Marshall, and protégé Lionel Robbins. He taught at the London School of Economics, where he was chairman for many years.
Further reading: /person/46

2. The bicentennial (200th) of the birth of the English advocate of free trade John Bright (1811-1889)
	John Bright (1811-1889) was a Quaker and a Member of Parliament who was active with Richard Cobden in opposing the Corn Laws and the war against Russia in the Crimea.
Further reading: /person/4140

3. The semiquincentennial (250th) of the birth of Albert Gallatin (1761-1849)
	Albert Gallatin (1761-1849) was a Swiss-American ethnologist, linguist, diplomat, and politician. He founded New York University and was Secretary of the Treasury under President Jefferson.
Further reading: /person/202

4. The tricentennial (300th) of the birth of David Hume (1711-1776)
	David Hume (1711-1776) was a moral philosopher and historian and a leading member of the Scottish Enlightenment. In philosophy he was a skeptic. In his multi-volume History of England he showed how the rule of law and the creation of an independent judiciary created the foundation for liberty in England. Hume also wrote on economics, was a personal friend of Adam Smith,and was a proponent of free trade. His works highlighted the neutrality of money and the errors of the mercantilists (whose flawed theories in favor of increased exports in order to build up a stock of gold remain the foundations of many public policies even today).
Further reading: /person/231

5. The quatercentenary (400th) of the birth of the English Republican political theorist James Harrington (1611-1677)
	James Harrington (1611-1677) was a leading English Republican political theorist of the 17th century. His views on voting by ballot and the rotation of office were considered radical in his day. Harrington’s work was influential in the 18th century as Jefferson and the Founding Fathers found in his writings on an independent gentry and the right to bear arms a useful antidote to the claims of the British monarchy.
Further reading: /person/3922

6. The quatercentenary (400th) of the birth of the English theorist of the Parliamentary cause during the English Civil War, Henry Ireton (1611-1651)
	Henry Ireton (1611-1651) was a leading theorist of the New Model Army and rose to the rank of general under Oliver Cromwell. He drafted a number of manifestos for the New Model Army in 1647 and was an active participant in the Putney Debates. He began by arguing for a constitutional monarchy but when the King proved uncooperative he supported the execution of the king and the supremacy of Parliament. He succeeded Cromwell as commander in chief in Ireland where he died.
Further reading: /person/4687

7. The seminonacentennial (450th) of the birth of the English philosopher and scientist Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
	Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626) was trained as a lawyer but made a name for himself as one of the clearest exponents of the scientific method at the dawn of the scientific revolution in the 16th and early 17th centuries. He argued that knowledge about the natural world could be best acquired through direct observation, experiment, and the testing of an hypothesis.
Further reading: /person/4097