Person:William Petty (13)

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William Petty
b.27 May 1623
d.16 Dec 1687
Facts and Events
Name William Petty
Gender Male
Birth[1] 27 May 1623
Marriage to Elizabeth Waller (add)
Death[1] 16 Dec 1687
Reference Number? Q278699?


the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

William Petty FRS (26 May 1623 – 16 December 1687) was an English economist, physician, scientist and philosopher. He first became prominent serving Oliver Cromwell and the Commonwealth in Ireland. He developed efficient methods to survey the land that was to be confiscated and given to Cromwell's soldiers. He also remained a significant figure under King Charles II and King James II, as did many others who had served Cromwell.

Petty was also a scientist, inventor, and merchant, a charter member of the Royal Society, and briefly a Member of the Parliament of England. However, he is best rememberd for his theories on economics and his methods of political arithmetic. He is attributed with originating the laissez-faire economic philosophy. He was knighted in 1661. He was the great-grandfather of the 1st Marquess of Lansdowne (better known to history as the 2nd Earl of Shelburne), who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain, 1782–1783.

This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at William Petty. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with WeRelate, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
References
  1. 1.0 1.1 William Petty, in Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia.
  2.   William Petty, in Lundy, Darryl. The Peerage: A genealogical survey of the peerage of Britain as well as the royal families of Europe.