John Ulric Nef (economic historian)
Encyclopedia
John Ulric Nef was an American economic historian
, and the co-founder of the University of Chicago
's Committee on Social Thought
. He was associated with the University of Chicago for over half a century, and co-founded the Committee there in 1941.
in 1920. He finished a PhD degree at the Robert Brookings Graduate School in Washington, D.C.
(a precursor of the Brookings Institution
) in 1927. He served at Swarthmore College
's faculty for a year. He joined the University of Chicago
's faculty in 1929 as an assistant professor of economics.
there in 1936.
He also served as a visiting professor at French universities, Institut d'études politiques
and the Collège de France
, and also lectured at the universities of Belfast and Houston.
at Chicago along with Frank Knight
, Robert Redfield
, and Robert M. Hutchins (who was then president of the University of Chicago). It is an elite interdisciplinary graduate department at Chicago. He served as executive secretary and also as chairman (1945–1964) of the Committee. He brought a number of distinguished people he had encountered in his travels abroad such as Marc Chagall
, T. S. Eliot
, Igor Stravinsky
, and Jacques Maritain
to the Committee.
's economic, cultural, and military history since the end of the 15th century. He was involved in the study of the comparative economic histories of Britain and France; his most intense being the French economic history
. His early work on the coal industry of Britain and the early Industrial Revolution
in Britain during the 16th and 17th century is particularly important. He work indicated that the Industrial Revolution was a long-time evolutionary process. He was also one of the first economic historians who paid serious attention to technology.
In 1980 he received the University of Chicago Medal.
He died at his home in Washington, D.C. at the age of 89, after a long illness, in 1988.
Economic history
Economic history is the study of economies or economic phenomena in the past. Analysis in economic history is undertaken using a combination of historical methods, statistical methods and by applying economic theory to historical situations and institutions...
, and the co-founder of the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
's Committee on Social Thought
Committee on Social Thought
The Committee on Social Thought is one of several PhD-granting committees at the University of Chicago. It was started in 1941 by historian John Ulric Nef along with economist Frank Knight, anthropologist Robert Redfield, and University President Robert Maynard Hutchins.The committee is...
. He was associated with the University of Chicago for over half a century, and co-founded the Committee there in 1941.
Early life
Nef was born in 1899. He was a native Chicagoan. He graduated from Harvard UniversityHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1920. He finished a PhD degree at the Robert Brookings Graduate School in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
(a precursor of the Brookings Institution
Brookings Institution
The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C., in the United States. One of Washington's oldest think tanks, Brookings conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics, metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, and...
) in 1927. He served at Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college in the United States with an enrollment of about 1,500 students. The college is located in the borough of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia....
's faculty for a year. He joined the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
's faculty in 1929 as an assistant professor of economics.
Career in academia
After joining the faculty at Chicago in 1929, he was associated with the university for over half a century. He became professor of economic historyEconomic history
Economic history is the study of economies or economic phenomena in the past. Analysis in economic history is undertaken using a combination of historical methods, statistical methods and by applying economic theory to historical situations and institutions...
there in 1936.
He also served as a visiting professor at French universities, Institut d'études politiques
Institut d'études politiques
Instituts d'études politiques , or IEPs, are nine publicly owned institutions of higher learning in France. They are located in Aix-en-Provence, Bordeaux, Grenoble, Lille, Lyon, Paris, Rennes, Strasbourg and Toulouse , and their vocation is the study and research of contemporary political science...
and the Collège de France
Collège de France
The Collège de France is a higher education and research establishment located in Paris, France, in the 5th arrondissement, or Latin Quarter, across the street from the historical campus of La Sorbonne at the intersection of Rue Saint-Jacques and Rue des Écoles...
, and also lectured at the universities of Belfast and Houston.
Committee on Social Thought
In 1941 Nef co-founded the Committee on Social ThoughtCommittee on Social Thought
The Committee on Social Thought is one of several PhD-granting committees at the University of Chicago. It was started in 1941 by historian John Ulric Nef along with economist Frank Knight, anthropologist Robert Redfield, and University President Robert Maynard Hutchins.The committee is...
at Chicago along with Frank Knight
Frank Knight
Frank Hyneman Knight was an American economist who spent most of his career at the University of Chicago, where he became one of the founders of the Chicago school. Nobel laureates James M. Buchanan, Milton Friedman and George Stigler were all students of Knight at Chicago. Knight supervised...
, Robert Redfield
Robert Redfield
Robert Redfield was an American anthropologist and ethnolinguist. Redfield graduated from the University of Chicago, eventually with a J.D. from its law school and then a Ph.D. in cultural anthropology, which he began to teach in 1927...
, and Robert M. Hutchins (who was then president of the University of Chicago). It is an elite interdisciplinary graduate department at Chicago. He served as executive secretary and also as chairman (1945–1964) of the Committee. He brought a number of distinguished people he had encountered in his travels abroad such as Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall Art critic Robert Hughes referred to Chagall as "the quintessential Jewish artist of the twentieth century."According to art historian Michael J...
, T. S. Eliot
T. S. Eliot
Thomas Stearns "T. S." Eliot OM was a playwright, literary critic, and arguably the most important English-language poet of the 20th century. Although he was born an American he moved to the United Kingdom in 1914 and was naturalised as a British subject in 1927 at age 39.The poem that made his...
, Igor Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
, and Jacques Maritain
Jacques Maritain
Jacques Maritain was a French Catholic philosopher. Raised as a Protestant, he converted to Catholicism in 1906. An author of more than 60 books, he helped to revive St. Thomas Aquinas for modern times and is a prominent drafter of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights...
to the Committee.
Work as an economic historian
Nef went on to become a foremost economic historian. His largest domain of interest was the Western EuropeWestern Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
's economic, cultural, and military history since the end of the 15th century. He was involved in the study of the comparative economic histories of Britain and France; his most intense being the French economic history
Economic history of France
This is a history of the economy of France. For more information on historical, cultural, demographic and sociological developments in France, see the chronological era articles in the template to the right...
. His early work on the coal industry of Britain and the early Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
in Britain during the 16th and 17th century is particularly important. He work indicated that the Industrial Revolution was a long-time evolutionary process. He was also one of the first economic historians who paid serious attention to technology.
Publication
He was an author of a number of books; his books include The United States and Civilization (1967), The Rise of the British Coal Industry (1966), The Conquest of the Material World (1964), and Search for Meaning: Autobiography of a Non-Conformist (1973).Later life
Apart from being an economic historian, Nef was also an officer of the French Legion of Honor, a philanthropist, and patron of the arts.In 1980 he received the University of Chicago Medal.
He died at his home in Washington, D.C. at the age of 89, after a long illness, in 1988.