Lauchlin Currie (1902-1993) was trained by many of the top economists of his day, after which he rose to commanding heights of economic policy-making. He also swam in Soviet spy infested waters and was identified as an easily tapped deep-throated unwitting source (at best) or as a deep-state traitor (at worst) during the McCarthy era. Four of his FBI files can be downloaded at the National Archives and Records Administration. Roger Sandilands stakes a position in his excellent paper “Guilt by Association? Lauchlin Currie’s Alleged Involvement with Washington Economists in Soviet Espionage” in History of Political Economy (Fall 2000).Sandlilands lands closer to the easily-tapped-unwitting source side of the story.
But for our purposes here Lauchlin Currie serves as just one more observation of the population of trained economists to help us learn about the intergenerational transmission and generation-by-generation production of new economic knowledge. Below you will find Currie’s graduate records from his time at Harvard.
_______________________
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
DIVISION OF HISTORY, GOVERNMENT, AND ECONOMICS
Application for Candidacy for the Degree of Ph.D.
[Note: Boldface used to indicate printed text of the application; italics used to indicate the handwritten entries]
I. Full Name, with date and place of birth.
Currie, Lauchlin Bernard. Born Oct 8, 1902 at Bridgewater, Nova Scotia.
II. Academic Career: (Mention, with dates inclusive, colleges or other higher institutions of learning attended; and teaching positions held.)
St. Francis Xavier’s 1921-22 (Nova Scotia)
London School of Economics 1922-1925.
Harvard University, 1925-1927
III. Degrees already attained. (Mention institutions and dates.)
B. Sc (Econ.) London 1925
IV. General Preparation. (Indicate briefly the range and character of your under-graduate studies in History, Economics, Government, and in such other fields as Ancient and Modern Languages, Philosophy, etc. In case you are a candidate for the degree in History, state the number of years you have studied preparatory and college Latin.)
An ordinary first year Arts [?] course which included French, German and Latin, followed by the ordinary three years course for the B.Sc. degree at London, with honors in economic theory. The latter course included Economics, Government and History (political and economic) and Logic and Scientific Method.
V. Department of Study. (Do you propose to offer yourself for the Ph.D., “History,” in “Economics,” or in “Political Science”?)
Economics.
VI. Choice of Subjects for the General Examination. (State briefly the nature of your preparation in each subject, as by Harvard courses, courses taken elsewhere, private reading, teaching the subject, etc., etc.)
- Economic Theory. A two years course under Prof. Cannan at London followed by Ec. 11 at Harvard and Ec 15.
- Economic History since 1750. A three years course under Prof. Knowles at London on English Industry, Commerce & Colonisation, Econ. Position of the Great Powers, and Ec. 2 at Harvard.
- Public Finance. One course with Dr. Hugh Dalton at London and Ec. 31 at Harvard.
- International Trade and Tariff Policy. Ec. 38, Ec. 33 and (proposed) Ec 39 at Harvard.
- History of Political Theory. One course with Prof. H. J. Laski at London and Govt. 6 at Harvard.
- (Money, Banking and Crises.) [NOTE: this item added later]
VII. Special Subject for the special examination.
Money, Banking and Crises
VIII. Thesis Subject. (State the subject and mention the instructor who knows most about your work upon it.)
Monetary History of Canada 1914-1926.
(Prof. Young)
IX. Examinations. (Indicate any preferences as to the time of the general and special examinations.)
May 1927. [NOTE: “April 11 Monday” added later]
X. Remarks
[Added later:]
Professors Young Wright Cole (A. H.) Burbank Usher
Williams Monroe Harris
Signature of a member of the Division certifying approval of the above outline of subjects.
[signed] Allyn A. Young
* * * [Last page of application] * * *
[Not to be filled out by the applicant]
Name: Lauchlin Bernard Currie.
Approved: November 12, 1928.
Ability to use French certified by Professor A. E. Monroe. December 8, 1926.
Ability to use German certified by Professor A. E. Monroe. December 8, 1926.
Date of general examination April 11, 1927, Passed A.A.Y.
Thesis received January 5, 1931
Read by Professor Williams and Dr. Harris
Approved January 28, 1931
Date of special examination January 30, 1931. Passed – J.H.W.
Recommended for the Doctorate Jan. 27, 1931.
Degree conferred Feb. 1931
Remarks. [left blank]
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Certification of reading knowledge
of French and German for Ph.D.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Department of Economics
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Dec. 8, 1926
Mr. L. B. Currie has this day passed a satisfactory examination in the reading of French and German as required of candidates for the doctor’s degree.
[signed]
A. E. Monroe
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Passed General Examination
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Department of Economics
Cambridge, Massachusetts
April 14, 1927
The Division of History, Government, and Economics:
As Chairman of the committee appointed to conduct the General Examination of Lauchlin B. Currie for the degree of Ph.D. in Economics, I beg to report that Mr. Currie passed the examination. While the candidate’s showing was in no way brilliant, the examination was, in the unanimous opinion of the committee, a perfectly clear pass.
[signed]
Allyn A. Young
AAY: CCT
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
Record of Lauchlin Bernard Currie
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
24 University Hall, Cambridge, Massachusetts
January 29, 1931
Transcript of the record of Mr. Lauchlin Bernard Currie
|
1925-26 |
|
|
COURSE |
GRADE |
| Economics 2 (1 course) |
A |
| Economics 11 (1 course) |
A |
| Economics 31 (1 course) |
A |
| Economics 38 (1 course) |
A |
|
1926-27 |
|
|
COURSE |
GRADE |
| Economics 151 (½ course) |
A minus |
| Economics 20 (1½ courses) |
AA |
| Economics 331 (½ course) |
A |
| Economics 392 (½ course) |
cr. |
| Government 6 (1 course) |
cr. |
|
1929-30 |
|
| COURSE |
GRADE |
| Economics 201 (1 course) |
A |
Mr. Currie received the degree of Master of Arts in June, 1927.
The established grades are A, B, C, D, and E.
A grade of A, B, Credit, Satisfactory, or Excused indicates that the course was passed with distinction. Only courses passed with these grades may be counted towards a degree.
*Courses marked with an asterisk are elementary and therefore may not be counted toward a higher degree.
[signed]
George K. Zipf
Assistant Dean.
Source: Harvard University Archives. Division of History, Government & Economics, PhD. Degrees Conferred, Box 11.
__________________________
Harvard Course Names and Instructors
1925-26
Economics 2. Professor Gay. – Economic History from the Industrial Revolution.
Economics 11. Professor Taussig. – Economic Theory.
Economics 31. Professor Bullock. – Public Finance.
Economics 38. Professor Young. – Principles of Money and Banking.
1926-27
Economics 151. Professor Young. – Modern Schools of Economic Thought.
Economics 20. Course of Research in Economics.
Economics 331. Professor Taussig. – International Trade.
Economics 392. Associate Professor Williams. – International Finance.
Government 6. Professor McIlwain. – History of Political Theory.
Source: Harvard University. Reports of the President of Harvard College for 1925-26 and 1926-27.
__________________________
Lauchlin Bernard Currie
Timeline of his education and career
1902. Born October 8 in New Dublin, Nova Scotia, Canada.
1921-22. St. Francis Xavier’s 1921-22 (Nova Scotia)
[Note: See above in Currie’s application to Ph.D. Candidacy at Harvard. Cf. Sandilands who apparently from some other source has this as 1920-22.]
1922-25. Study at the London School of Economics. University of London. B.Sc.
1925. Begins graduate study of economics at Harvard University.
1927. A.M. awarded at Harvard.
1927-34. Instructor in Economics and Tutor in the Division of History, Government, and Economics at Harvard.
1931. Ph.D. awarded at Harvard. Thesis: Bank Assets and Banking Theory.
1931-32. Taught “International Trade and Tariff Policies,” Economics 9a 1hf, at Radcliffe.
1933-34. Professor of International Economics at Fletcher Graduate School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University.
1934-35. Taught “Money, Banking, and Cycles,” Economics 3, at Radcliffe.
1934. Published The Supply and Control of Money in the United States. Harvard University Press.
1934. Analyst for the United States Treasury Department, under supervision of Jacob Viner.
1934-1939. Assistant Director of Research and Statistics for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
1939-45. Assistant on Economic Affairs to Franklin D. Roosevelt.
1941. Named head of the Economic Mission to China.
1943-44. Acting Director of the Foreign Economic Administration.
1945. Resigned from government service to enter private business.
1954. Lost U.S. Citizenship following an investigation by Senator Joseph McCarthy.
1949-93. Advisor on economic issues to the government of Colombia.
1993. Died in Colombia.
Source: Roger J. Sandilands. The Lauchlin Currie Papers at Duke University: A Review of their Significance for the History of Political Economy. July, 2003. Also some details from the FBI Freedom of Information Files linked to above.
Image Source: Portrait of Dr. Lauchlin B. Currie, Harvard Class Book 1934.