Edwin Francis Gay

Edwin Francis Gay (October 27, 1867 – February 8, 1946) was an American economist, professor of economic history, and the first Dean of the Harvard Business School.^[1]

Edwin Francis Gay
Portrait of Edwin Francis Gay
Born	(1867-10-27)October 27, 1867 Detroit, Michigan
Died	February 8, 1946(1946-02-08) (aged 78) Richmond, Virginia
Alma mater	University of Michigan (AB) University of Berlin (PhD)

Biography

Born in Detroit to a rich businessman,^[1] Gay attended schools in the United States and in Switzerland.^[2] In 1890, he obtained his A.B. in history and philosophy at the University of Michigan. He returned to Europe to study agriculture, industry, trade, and history at universities in Leipzig, Göttingen, Zurich, Berlin and London. In 1892, he married his Michigan classmate Louise Randolph, with whom he shared his research. In 1902, he received his PhD from the University of Berlin under supervision of Gustav Schmoller.

Back in the United States, in 1902, Gay was appointed instructor at Harvard University, replacing William Ashley. In 1903, he was promoted to Assistant Professor, and in 1906 to Professor in the chair of Economic History at Harvard.

Gay was the first Dean of the Harvard Business School from 1908 to 1919.^[3] The Harvard Business School was founded in 1908 and started the first year with 59 students. In the 1920s, there were over 500 students.

Gay served as chairman of the planning and statistics division of the War Industries Board during World War I.^[4] He was a founding member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and served as its first elected secretary and treasurer from 1921 to 1933, then as vice-president until 1944, succeeding co-founder Paul D. Cravath.^[5][6]

Gay was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1913.^[7] In 1921, he was elected as a Fellow of the American Statistical Association.^[8] He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1932.^[9] From 1929 onwards, he was the representative for America and de facto co-chairman of the International Scientific Committee on Price History.^[10]

He was president of the New York Evening Post from 1920 to 1923.^[11]

Selected publications

Books, a selection:

• Burritt, A. W., Dennison, H. S., Gay, E. F., Heilman, R. E., & Kendall, H. P. (1918). Profit Sharing, Its Principles and Practice: A Collaboration. Harper & Brothers.^[12]
• Gay, Edwin Francis. The rhythm of history. 1923.
• Gay, Edwin Francis, et al. Facts and factors in economic history: articles by former students of Edwin Francis Gay. Harvard University Press, 1932.^[13]
• Hamilton, Alexander, Arthur H. Cole, and Edwin Francis Gay. Industrial and Commercial Correspondence of Alexander Hamilton: Anticipating His Report on Manufactures. Augustus M. Kelley, 1968.

Articles, a selection:

• Gay, Edwin Francis. "The Inquisitions of Depopulation in 1517 and the'Domesday of Inclosures'." Transactions of the Royal Historical Society 14.1 (1900): 231-303.

About Gay:

• Heaton, Herbert. A scholar in action, Edwin F. Gay. Greenwood Press, 1968.^[14]

Honors

To his memory, the "Edwin F. Gay Award for Economic History" was created. One of the award winners was historian Richard H. Tilly.

Archives and records

• Dean's Office Correspondence Files (Edwin F. Gay, Dean) at Baker Library Special Collections, Harvard Business School.

References

1. Morgen Witzel (2004) "Edwin Gay (1867-1946)" in: Fifty key figures in management. Routledge. p. 136-141
2. Earl J. Hamilton "Memorial: Edwin Francis Gay" The American Economic Review. Vol. 37, No. 3, Jun. 1947. p. 410-413.
3. "Our History". hbs.edu. Archived from the original on 18 February 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2009.
4. "Dr. Edwin F. Gay, Economist and War Aide, Dies". Los Angeles Times. 1946-02-09. p. 1. Retrieved 2024-01-16 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Directors and Officers" cfr.org. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
6. "THE COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS A Short History by George Gavrilis, Council on Foreign Relations, 2021, page 10. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
7. "Edwin Francis Gay". American Academy of Arts & Sciences. 2023-02-09. Retrieved 2023-06-28.
8. List of ASA Fellows Archived 2016-06-16 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 2016-07-16.
9. "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved 2023-06-28.
10. Julien Demade, Produire un fait scientifique. Beveridge et le Comité international d'histoire des prix, Paris, Publications de la Sorbonne, 2018, p. 63-64. ISBN 979-10-351-0058-2.
11. "Register of the Edwin Francis Gay Papers". Online Archive of California. Retrieved 7 January 2009.
12. Arthur Winfield Burritt; Henry Sturgis Dennison; Edwin Francis Gay; Ralph Emerson Heilman; Henry Plimpton Kendall (1918). Profit Sharing, Its Principles and Practice: A Collaboration. Harper & Brothers.
13. Edwin Francis Gay; Arthur Harrison Cole; Arthur Louis Dunham; N. S. B. Gras (1932). Facts and factors in economic history: articles by former students of Edwin Francis Gay. Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674368897.
14. Herbert Heaton (1968). A Scholar in Action, Edwin F. Gay. Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-674-18692-7.