In the last post we met the 1948 Harvard economics Ph.D. alumnus, W. Glenn Campbell. Now it is time to meet his wife and fellow economist, Rita Ricardo (Radcliffe economics Ph.D., 1946).
I have stumbled upon statements claiming that Rita was a direct descendent of David Ricardo, but they are incorrect. As she herself correctly wrote in the following letter to the White House (she was actively seeking to follow Martin Feldstein as Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under Ronald Reagan), she was a “collateral descendant” of that great classical economist, David Ricardo.
For exercise I climbed the Ricardo family tree to establish the degrees of separation between Rita and David, with whom she was indeed distantly related. She was clearly proud enough to flaunt her Ricardian pedigree professionally. My executive summary of the genealogical bottom line: Rita’s great-great grandfather was a third cousin of David Ricardo, and you can count the links yourself below. The main source used is the Lewis Family Tree Project at ancestry.com.
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From a letter by Rita Ricardo-Campbell
to Michael K. Deaver,
Deputy Chief of Staff, White House.
November 21, 1984
“As a collateral descendant of the famous British economist David Ricardo, (that incidentally qualifies me as an Hispanic under the law!) I note that the well known Ricardian theory of the debt supports the President’s economic policy which I fully endorse.”
Source: Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.
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Radcliffe Ph.D. Thesis
Doctor of Philosophy
Degree awarded October 1946
Rita Ricardo Campbell, A.M.
Subject, Economics. Special Field, Labor Problems.
Dissertation, “Annual Wage and Employment Guarantee Plans”
Source: Reports of Officers Issue, 1946-47 Sessions. Official Register of Radcliffe College Vol. XIII, No. 6 (December, 1947), p. 21.
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Hoover Institution Obituary
Rita Ricardo-Campbell
1920-2016
The Hoover Institution announced today that renowned economist and senior fellow Rita Ricardo-Campbell died on March 7, 2016, at the age of ninety-five.
“Rita Ricardo-Campbell will be remembered for her meaningful contribution to health care and Social Security research. While the loss is great, it is heartening that her legacy will live on through the Hoover Institution’s Glenn Campbell and Rita Ricardo Campbell National Fellows program,” stated Tom Gilligan, Director, Hoover Institution.
Ricardo-Campbell’s depth of experience extended to both the private and public sectors. She served as a director of the Gillette Company, the Watkins Johnson Company, and the Samaritan Medical Management Group. On the public side, she was a member of the President’s Economic Policy Advisory Board (1981-1989), a member of the National Endowment for the Humanities (1982-1988), a member of the President’s Committee on the National Medal of Science (1981 and 1991), and a member of the Advisory Council on Social Security (1974-1975). She held teaching posts at Harvard and Tufts Universities before becoming an economist on the Wage Stabilization Board in Washington, DC, and subsequently as an economist for the House Ways and Means Committee.
“The impact of Rita’s work is well understood. But what people don’t know is that Rita was a true pioneer, ahead of her time,” said Ed Lazear, Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution. “She was the first female professor of economics at Harvard and throughout the years had significant influence on political leaders, all while raising her beautiful family. She was an inspiration and will be missed by many.”
Ricardo-Campbell was a prominent writer, authoring a number of reputable books: Social Security: Promise and Reality; The Economics and Politics of Health; Issues in Contemporary Retirement(coedited with Hoover Institution’s Edward Lazear); Aging: Social Security and Medicare; Below-Replacement Fertility in Industrial Societies; and Women and Comparable Worth.
A native of Boston, Massachusetts, Ricardo-Campbell received her bachelor’s of science degree from Simmons College and master’s and PhD degrees from Harvard University. She was preceded in death by her husband, former Hoover Institution Director W. Glenn Campbell. She is survived by three daughters, Diane Rita Campbell, Barbara Lee Gray and Nancy Elizabeth Yaeger, and four grandchildren.
Ricardo-Campbell’s research papers are available at the Hoover Institution Archives.
Image Source: Rita Ricardo, Class of 1941. Simmons College Yearbook Microcosm, p. 64.
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The 9-generation line from Samuel ‘Moses’ Israel Ricardo
to Rita Ricardo-Campbell
Samuel ‘Moses’ Israel Ricardo (est1624-ca1692) and Diana Israel (1628-1709)
Daniel ‘Samuel’ Israel Ricardo (1657-) and Rebecca ‘Jacob’ Nunes Mendes (1660-1722)
Benjamin ‘Daniel’ Israel Ricardo (1694-1768) and Gracia ‘Isaac’ Saraga (1701-)
Daniel ‘Benjamin’ Israel Ricardo (1722-1787) and Rachel ‘Salomon’ de Rocamora (1745-1787)
Abraham Daniel Ricardo, 1786-1842 and Benvenida ‘Abraham, David’ Senior Coronel (1789-1828)
Daniel Abraham Ricardo 1812-1871 (Birth in Amsterdam) and Jetje Catarina ‘Elias’ Barentz (1811-)
Aaron Daniel Ricardo (1852-1920?) born in Amsterdam, died in London and Rebecca ‘Abraham’ Lopes Salzedo (1850-1900)
David ‘Aaron’ Ricardo (1878-) and Elizabeth Jones (1900-), both born in England
Rita Ricardo-Campbell (16 Mar 1920 (Boston)-July 3, 2016 (Stanford)
The 5 generation line from Samuel ‘Moses’ Israel Ricardo
to David Ricardo
Samuel ‘Moses’ Israel Ricardo (est1624-ca1692) and Diana Israel (1628-1709)
David ‘Samuel’ Israel Ricardo (1652-) and Estrella (Strellia) ‘Joseph’ Amadeos (1663-)
Joseph ‘David’ Israel Ricardo (1699-1762) and Hanna ‘Abraham’ Abas (1705-1781)
Abraham ‘Joseph’ Israel Ricardo (1735-1812) and Abigail ‘Abraham’ del Valle (1753-)
David ‘Abraham’ Ricardo (1722-1823) and Priscilla Wilkinson(1775-)