Adam Smith’s exact date of birth is unknow, but he was baptized on June 5^th, 1723, in Kirkcaldy, Scotland.  He died a bachelor in Edinburg on July 17th, 1790, after a painful illness.

He was a Scottish social philosopher and political economist who was a pioneer in the thinking of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment.  He would become the Father of Economics as well as one of history’s most eloquent defenders of free markets.

Smith is most famous for his 1776 book, “the Wealth of Nations”, that he wrote upon his return to his Mother’s Edinburg home in 1766.  Smith’s writings were studied by 20^th-century philosophers, writers, and economists.  Smith’s ideas, the importance of the free markets, assembly-line production methods, and gross domestic product (GDP), form the basis for the theories of classical economics.

Smith’s rising profile secured him a job as Scotland’s commissioner of customs, where he helped the government enforce laws against smuggling.  His las decade was consumed by his government position, although he continually revised his Theory of Moral Sentiments and considered philosophical questions.