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Economists Harvard

Harvard. Economics Ph.D. alumnus, Seymour Edwin Harris. 1926

While this post still needs the course transcript from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Harvard to be complete, there is enough information about the 1926 Harvard economics Ph.D. Seymour Edwin Harris for it to be added to our series “Meet an economics Ph.D. alumnus/alumna”.

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Biographical/Historical Note

Seymour Edwin Harris was born September 8, 1897 in New York City. He received an A.B. in 1920 and a Ph.D. in 1926 from Harvard University. From 1922 to 1964, Dr. Harris taught economics at Harvard University, where he received a full professorship in 1954, and served as the chairman of the department of economics from 1955 to 1959. During World War II, Dr. Harris was involved in several wartime planning projects. From 1954 to 1956, Dr. Harris became chief economic advisor to Adlai Stevenson. He then served Senator John F. Kennedy in the same capacity and was chosen as a member of President Kennedy’s task force on the economy. In 1961, Dr. Harris was named as chief economic consultant to Douglas Dillon, Secretary of the Treasury. During the Kennedy administration. Dr. Harris, a proponent of Keynesian economics, was a member of Walter W. Heller’s New Frontiersmen, which persuaded President Kennedy that the stimulation of the economy was more important than a balanced budget and tax cuts and government spending could counter threats of a recession. In 1963, Dr. Harris became the chairman of the department of economics at the University of California at La Jolla. At the same time, he served as a chief economic advisor to the Johnson administration.

Source: John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Archives. Guide to the Seymour E. Harris Personal Papers.

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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.

Seymour Edwin Harris.  Sept. 8, 1897; Brooklyn, N.Y.

II. Academic Career: (Mention, with dates inclusive, colleges or other higher institutions of learning attended; and teaching positions held.)

C.C.N.Y. – 1916-18. Harvard A.B. 1918-20.
Princeton – Instructor of Economics 1920-2.
Harvard – Tutor 1922-4.

III. Degrees already attained. (Mention institutions and dates.)

A.B. Harvard. 1920.

IV. General Preparation. (Indicate briefly the range and character of your undergraduate 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.)

Economics A, 3, 5, 11, 33
History 1, 12, 32b
Government 1, 17B.
Latin – 2 years at college. Greek – 1 year. French – 2 years (college). German – 1 year.

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.)

  1. Economic Theory & History.
    Economics A, 11 – as undergraduate – 14, 15
  2. Money and Banking.
    Economics 38
    Two half courses at Princeton Grad. School. (Currency Reform & Monetary Histor of the U.S.)
  3. Statistics.
    Economics 41
  4. Public Finance
    Economics 31
  5. American History.
    History 32b (as Undergraduate)
    & Private reading
  6. [Left blank]

VII. Special Subject for the special examination.

Money and Banking with International Trade as a substitute field [committee: Professors Young (chairman), Taussig, Gay, and Monroe]

VIII. Thesis Subject. (State the subject and mention the instructor who knows most about your work upon it.)

Subject? [The Assignat]
Professor Young.

IX. Examinations. (Indicate any preferences as to the time of the general and special examinations.)

May 15, 1924
[March (early), 1926]

X. Remarks

I have not decided on any subject. At present, I expect to write in Theory, and I hope under Professor Young.

Signature of a member of the Division certifying approval of the above outline of subjects.

Allyn A. Young

*   *   *   [Last page of application] *   *   *

[Not to be filled out by the applicant]

Name: S. E. Harris

Approved: April 2, 1924

Ability to use French certified by C. J. Bullock, 10 May 1923.

Ability to use German certified by C. J. Bullock, 10 May 1923.

Date of general examination April 29, 1924. Passed A.A.Y.

Thesis received March 5, 1926

Read by [left blank]

Approved [left blank]

Date of special examination [left blank]

Recommended for the Doctorate [left blank]

Degree conferred  [left blank]

Remarks.  [left blank]

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Certification of reading knowledge
of French and German for Ph.D.

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS

Cambridge, Massachusetts
May 10, 1923

This is to certify that I have examined Mr. S.E. Harris and have found that he has such a knowledge of French and German as we require of candidates for the Ph.D. degree.

Very truly yours
[signed]
C. J. Bullock [K]

Dean D. H. Haskins

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Passed General Examination

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS

Cambridge, Massachusetts
April 30, 1924

Dear Dean Haskins:

As Chairman of the Committee to conduct the general examination of S. E. Harris for the degree of Ph.D., I beg to report that Mr. Harris passed the examination. It was the opinion of the Committee that Mr. Harris’ showing was distinctly good, “better than the average”.

Yours sincerely,
[signed]
Allyn A. Young

Dean C. H. Haskins

[Note: The exam was held Tuesday, 29 April at 4 p.m. in Widener D. Committee: Professors Young, Crum, Bullock, Williams and Dr. Merk with Professor Persons substituting for Professor Crum at the examination.]

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Passed Special Examination

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS

Cambridge, Massachusetts
March 12, 1926

To the Division of History, Government and Economics:

As chairman of the committee appointed to conduct the special examination of Mr. S. E. Harris for the degree of Ph.D. in Economics I beg to report that Mr. Harris passed a very creditable examination.

[signed]
Allyn A. Young

Source: Harvard University Archives. Division of History, Government & Economics, Ph.D. Degrees Conferred 1929-30. (UA V 453.270), Box 6.

Image Source: This particular portrait of Seymour E. Harris has been cropped from the 1934 Harvard Album. The identical portrait can be found already in the 1925 Harvard Album.

 

Categories
Economists Harvard

Harvard. Application for PhD candidacy. Edward S. Mason, 1923

Below you will find a transcription of the paper trail of Edward Sagendorph Mason that documents the satisfaction of the requirements for his Ph.D. in economics (Harvard, 1925). 

Understatement is almost an art form in the hands of the chairman (Professor Frank W. Taussig) of Mason’s final doctoral examination  that followed acceptance of his dissertation: “His showing was highly creditable, even brilliant”.

_______________________

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.

Edward Sagendorph Mason, Clinton, Iowa. Feb. 22, 1899.

II. Academic Career: (Mention, with dates inclusive, colleges or other higher institutions of learning attended; and teaching positions held.)

University of Kansas 1916-’19
Harvard (graduate school) one year 1919-’20
Oxford University (Lincoln College) 1920-’23

III. Degrees already attained. (Mention institutions and dates.)

A.B. Kansas 1919
M.A. Harvard 1920
B. Litt. Oxford 1923

IV. General Preparation. (Indicate briefly the range and character of your undergraduate studies in History, Economics, Government, and in such other fields as Ancient and Modern Languages, Philosophy, etc.)

30-40 hours in Economics (Theory – Econ. Hist. – Banking – Hist. of Theory)
Political theory – American government.
English History – Modern French History.
French – 3 years.
English literature – 20-30 hours.

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.)

  1. Economic Theory. – Econ 11 at Harvard. Elementary and advanced courses at Kansas. – Reading and lectures in England and Germany.
    History of Theory (from Plato & Aristotle). Elementary course at Kansas – Reading and lectures at Oxford
  2. Statistics. – Graduate course at Harvard. Additional Reading.
  3. Public Finance. – Graduate course at Harvard.
  4. Economic History of England and the United States. – Elementary course in U.S. Econ. History at Kansas. Lectures and reading at Oxford.
  5. American Government and Constitutional Law. – Elementary course in Am. Gov. at Kansas. Graduate course in Const. Law at Harvard. Additional reading.
  6. International Trade. 

VII. Special Subject for the special examination.

International Trade

VIII. Thesis Subject. (State the subject and mention the instructor who knows most about your work upon it.)

Dumping – A Study of Certain International Trade Practices. England, Germany and the United States (B. Litt. Dissertation at Oxford in this subject. May submit same at Harvard.)
Professor Taussig.

IX. Examinations. (Indicate any preferences as to the time of the general and special examinations.)

General Examination. June 10th or after.
Special Examination. Next year.

X. Remarks

Attendance at Oxford makes it impossible for me to present myself before June 10th at the earliest.

Signature of a member of the Division certifying approval of the above outline of subjects.

[signed] F. W. Taussig

*   *   *   [Last page of application] *   *   *

[Not to be filled out by the applicant]

Name: Edward S. Mason

Approved: May 28, 1923

Ability to use French certified by C. J. Bullock. Oct 3, 1923.

Ability to use German certified by  C. J. Bullock. Oct. 3, 1923.

Date of general examination November 27, 1923. Passed. F.W. Taussig, ch[airman]

Thesis received 22 December 1924.

Read by Professors Taussig, Young, Williams.

Approved 14 January 1925.

Date of special examination 22 January 1925. Passed F.W.T.

Recommended for the Doctorate [left blank]

Degree conferred 24 February 1925

Remarks.  [left blank]

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Record of E. S. Mason in the
Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

1919-20
Economics 11
[Economic Theory. Prof. Taussig]		 A
Economics 31
[Public Finance, Prof. Bullock]		 A minus
Economics 41
[Statistics: Theory and Analysis, Asst. Prof. Day]		 B plus
Government 19
[American Constitutional Law,
Mr. MacLeish]		 A
A.M.  1920

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Dean not amused by late application

28 April 1923

My dear Mr. Mason:

Your application requesting for arrangements for a general examination this year has just been received. I am rather surprised that you should hand it in at such a late date and expect us to meke such arrangements. The list of examinations has been scheduled and printed for some weeks, and we cannot guarantee examinations for anyone after the first of June as it is exceedingly difficult to secure the presence of all the members of the examining comittee in Cambridge on the same day after the close of the lecture period. If you will indicate definitely the date of your return, which you mention vaguely in your letter, we shall try, however to arrange a committee for you at that time. Nothing can be promised, but we shall try to do what we can. I appreciate the convenience to you of taking the general examination this year, but I beg to remind you that due notice should be given of your plan of study and of your application for a general examination.

Very truly yours,
[unsigned carbon copy]

Edward S. Mason

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Mason responds to the Dean regarding an early date for his general examination

Lincoln College,
Oxford.

May 9, 1923.

Dean C. H. Haskins,
Harvard University.

My dear Sir –

If it is convenient for you and for the examiners I should like to take the Ph.D. general examination (Economics) on June 12th. I am writing to Professor Bullock, my examiner in French and German, asking to be allowed to present myself June 11th for the language examinations.

May I emphasize again that if it causes the slightest inconvenience to yourself or the examiners, I should very much like to have the examination postponed till October or November, since I intend to be at Harvard next year in any case.

Thanking you for the trouble you have taken.

I am,

Very Truly Yours,
[signed] Edward S. Mason

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Division Memo Regarding Planned General Examination (undated)

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
(INTER-DEPARTMENTAL CORRESPONDENCE SHEET)

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Edward S. Mason

June 10, or after.

  1. [Taussig] Economic Theory
  2. [Bullock] History of Theory (from Plato to Aristotle)
  3. [Crum] Statistics
  4. [Burbank] Public Finance
  5. [Usher] Economic History of England and the United States
  6. [Holcombe] American Government and Constitutional Law.

Special field: International Trade

Thesis being done with Professor Taussig.
Professor Taussig has signed the application.

French and German not certified.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

22 May 1923

My dear Mr. Mason;

In view of the difficulty of arranging an examination so late in the year, and also in view of the fact that you have not satisfied your French and Gorman requirement, I think it would be better if the examination went over till fall. There will be no difficulty in arranging an examination for you early in October, if you so desire.

  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Certification of reading knowledge
of French and German

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Department of Economics

Cambridge, Massachusetts
October 3, 1923.

Dear Haskins:

I have examined Mr. E. S. Mason, and find that he has such a knowledge of French and German as we require of candidates for the doctor’s degree.

Very truly yours,
[signed]
Charles J. Bullock

Dean C. H. Haskins

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

General exam postponed

21 November 1925

My dear Mr. Mason:

I am sorry to have to tell you that I have just now received a telegram from Professor Taussig from Yonkers, New York, saying that he has been detained by the sudden death of his brother, and that your examination would have to be postponed. I will let you know as soon as I hear anything further from him,

Very truly yours,
Secretary of the Division.

Mr. E. S. Mason

[Note: Frank Taussig’s brother, mayor Walter Morris Taussig of Yonkers, New York, committed suicide on Nov. 21, 1923.]

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

New Date for General Examination

23 November 1923

My dear Mr. Mason:

Your general examination is to be held on Tuesday, 27 November, at 4 p.m., in Upper Massachusette Hall.

Very truly yours.
Secretary of the Division.

Mr. E. S. Mason

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

General examination passed

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Department of Economics

Cambridge, Massachusetts
November 30, 1923.

Dear Haskins:

As Chairman of the Committee appointed to conduct the general examination of Edward S. Mason, I have to report that Mr. Mason passed the examination by unanimous vote of the Committee.

Very truly yours,
[signed]
F. W. Taussig

Dean C. H. Haskins

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Thesis accepted, but…

15 January 1925

My dear Mr. Mason:

I am happy to inform you that your thesis has been accepted. Under ordinary circumstances we should be glad to arrange your special examination as soon as practicable, but I cannot guarantee presence of a committee during the midyear examination period and the time is now too short to arrange
an examination in the next few days. Moreover, I do not see how you can be admitted to the final examination until you present suitable evidence of your graduate study elsewhere and you have been accepted by the authorities of the Graduate School as a candidate for the Doctorate. I understand from Dr. Robinson that the papers which you were to submit in support of your application for the Ph.D. have not yet been filed.

Sincerely yours,
[Initialed] C. H. H.

Mr. E. S. Mason

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Papers in order, so special examination
can take place

16 January 1925

My dear Mr. Mason:

Since you have now straightened out the matter concerning which Professor Haskins wrote you yesterday, we are arranging your special examination for Thursday, 22 January, at 4 p.m. The committee will consist of Professors Taussig (chairman), Young, Williams, and Persons. I trust that this will be convenient for you. I will let you know about the place later.

Very truly yours,
[unsigned carbon copy]
Secretary of the Division.

Dr. E. S. Mason

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Date and committee
for special examination

19 January 1925

My dear Mr. Mason:

This is to remind you that your special examination for the Ph.D. in Economics is to be held on Thursday, 22 January, at 4 p.m., in Widener U. The committee will consist of Professors Taussig (chairman), Young, Williams, and Persons.

Very truly yours,
[unsigned carbon copy]
Secretary of the Division.

Dr. E. S. Mason

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Special examination passed

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Department of Economics

Cambridge, Massachusetts
January 27, 1925.

Dear Haskins:

I have to report that Edward S. Mason passed his special examination for the Ph.D. degree on Thursday, January 22, by unanimous vote of the Committee. His showing was highly creditable, even brilliant.

Very truly yours,
[signed]
F. W. Taussig

Dean C. H. Haskins

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Source: Harvard University Archives. Division of History, Government & Economics. PhD. Examinations, Box 6: 1924-26.

Image Source: Portrait of Edward S. Mason included in the Harvard Class Album 1932.

Categories
Economists Harvard Transcript

Harvard. Application for PhD candidacy. James Waterhouse Angell, 1921

The empirical questions behind most of the collection of archival artifacts found here at Economics in the Rear-view Mirror can be reduced to i) what was being taught ii) who was teaching it, and iii) what was the pattern of the courses actually taken by young economists. These artifacts can be thought of as occupying cell(s) in a matrix of year by academic institution, e.g. this post deals with question (iii) and will be filed in the Harvard, early 1920’s cell.

James Waterhouse Angell (1898-1986) was a Harvard and Chicago trained economist who joined the Columbia faculty upon receiving his Ph.D. from Harvard in 1924. He was a member of Columbia’s faculty for over forty years, interrupted by government service during World War II at the War Production Board and the Foreign Economics Administration.  More about his life and career can be read in his New York Times obituary (April 1, 1986)

With this post we have the record for Angell in Harvard’s Division of History, Government, and Economics. It provides us with a wealth of information about his academic training. There will be a flow of such records for other graduate students that promises to match the flow of syllabi and exams, the stock of which constitute the core of archival material.

 You  should subscribe to Economics in the Rear-view Mirror if you are working on the history of economics. To do so scroll down (or search “Subscribe” on this page from your web browser).

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Autobiographical snippet

Angell’s personal statement in the 25th year anniversary report of the Harvard Class of 1918

_______________________

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.

James Waterhouse Angell. May 20, 1898. Chicago.

II. Academic Career: (Mention, with dates inclusive, colleges or other higher institutions of learning attended; and teaching positions held.)

Undergraduate: Harvard 1914-18. Graduate: University of Chicago, March 1919-June 1920; Harvard, September 1920-date. Teaching: Assistant in Economics, Univ. of Chicago, October 1919-June 1920.

III. Degrees already attained. (Mention institutions and dates.)

A.B. Harvard, 1918. [magna cum laude]

IV. General Preparation. (Indicate briefly the range and character of your undergraduate 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.)

History. Harvard: Hist. A, 30a. Government. Univ. of Chicago: Elementary Comp. Govt. Economics. Harvard: Economics A, 2a, 2b, 4b, 5a, 5b. Univ. of Chicago: Labor Problems, Money and Banking, Statistics.

Greek: Harvard: Greek G, A, 2, 8. Latin. Harvard: Latin B, 8. French. Harvard: French 2. Philosophy. Univ. of Chicago: Social and Political Philosophy. Psychology. Harvard: Psychology A, Univ. of Chicago: Social Psychology.

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.)

  1. Economic Theory and Its History. Harvard: Economics A, 11, 14; Univ. of Chicago: History of Econ. Thought. Teaching: Univ. of Chicago: 2 quarters of elementary theory, 1920.
  2. Economic History since 1750. Harvard: Economics 2a and 2b.
  3. Public Finance. Harvard: Economics 5a, 5b, 31
  4. Money and Banking. Harvard: Economics 38. Univ. of Chicago: Elementary Money & Banking. Also private reading.
  5. International Trade and Tariff Policy. Harvard: Economics 33; and private reading.
  6. [Constitutional] History of the U.S., 1789-1914. Univ. of Chicago. 3 quarters of graduate study. (A. D. Mr. Laughlin)

VII. Special Subject for the special examination.

Special subject either Economic Theory or Public Finance; to be specified later. Money and Banking

VIII. Thesis Subject. (State the subject and mention the instructor who knows most about your work upon it.)

International Price Levels (With Professors Taussig and Young)

IX. Examinations. (Indicate any preferences as to the time of the general and special examinations.)

General: Last week in October, 1921.

X. Remarks

[Left blank]

Signature of a member of the Division certifying approval of the above outline of subjects.

[signed] Edmund E. Day

*   *   *   [Last page of application] *   *   *

[Not to be filled out by the applicant]

Name: James W. Angell

Approved: April 29, 1921

Ability to use French certified by Charles J. Bullock. 10 March, 1922 B.S.M.

Ability to use German certified by Charles J. Bullock, 10 March, 1922 B.S.M.

Date of general examination June 2, 1922 Passed A.A.Y.

Thesis received Oct. 15, 1923

Read by Professors Taussig, Young, and Persons

Approved October 29, 1921

Date of special examination Thursday, March 6, 1924. Passed A.A. Young 

Recommended for the Doctorate[left blank]

Degree conferred  [left blank]

Remarks.  [left blank]

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Record of James Waterhouse Angell in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Harvard University

1920-21
Economics 11.
[Economic Theory, Prof. Taussig]		 A
Economics 14
[History and Literature of Economics to the year 1848, Prof. Bullock]		 A minus
Economics 31
[Public Finance, Prof. Bullock]		 A
Economics 331 [half course]
[International Trade and Tariff Problems, Prof. Taussig]		 A
Economics 382 [half course]
[Selected Monetary Problems, Prof. Young]		 A
Attained the degree of Master of Arts.
1921-22
Economics 20 (F.W.T.)
[Economic Research (for Ph.D. candidates)]		 A

Note: A transcript can also be found in Harvard University Archives, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Record Cards of Students, 1895-1930, Aab—Belcher (UAV 161.2722.5). File I, Box 1, Record Card of James Waterhouse Angell.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Committee on Economic Research
Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
Charles J. Bullock, Chairman

Charles F. Adams
Nicholas Biddle
Frederic H. Curtiss
Wallace B. Donham
Ogden L. Mills
Eugene V. R. Thayer

W.M. Persons, Editor
Review of Economic Statistics

J.B. Hubbard, Editor
Harvard Economic Service

F.Y. Presley
General Manager

March 10, 1922.

Professor Charles H. Haskins,
23 University Hall,
Cambridge, Mass.

This is to certify that I have examined Mr. J. W. Angell and find that he has such a knowledge of French and German as we require of candidates for the doctor’s degree.

[signed] Charles J. Bullock

CJB/AMB

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
DIVISION OF HISTORY, GOVERNMENT, AND ECONOMICS

Cambridge, Massachusetts
6 June 1922

I beg to report that Mr. James W. Angell passed the General Examination in Economics held on Friday, 2 June. Mr. Angell’s examination clearly earned a pass, but it is proper to say that the examination was not as distinguished and the margin was not as large as Mr. Angell’s brilliant course record indicated it would be.

[signed by D.C. for] Allyn A. Young

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

[Carbon copy]

26 February 1924

My dear Professor Young:

We are arranging J.W. Angell’s special examination for Thursday, 6 March, at 4 p.m. I will let you know the place later. The committee will consist of Professors Taussig, Williams, Sprague, and yourself as chairman.

Very truly yours,
Secretary of the Division.

Professor A. A. Young

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
DIVISION OF HISTORY, GOVERNMENT, AND ECONOMICS

Cambridge, Massachusetts
March 7, 1924

Dear Haskins:

On behalf of the committee appointed to conduct the special examination of Mr. J. W. Angell, I beg to report that Mr. Angell successfully passed the examination. I may add that the examination as a whole was unusually satisfactory.

Very truly yours,
[signed by k. for] Allyn A. Young

Dean C. H. Haskins

Source: Harvard University Archives. Division of History, Government, and Economics. Ph.D. exams and records of candidates, study plans, lists, etc. pre-1911-1942. Box 5. Folder “J. W. Angell.”

_______________________

Annotated Typescript for
Division of History, Government, and Economics
Examinations for the Degree of Ph.D. 1923-1924
JAMES WATERHOUSE ANGELL.

SPECIAL EXAMINATION in Economics, passed. Thursday, March 6, 1924.

GENERAL EXAMINATION passed June 2, 1922.

ACADEMIC HISTORY: Harvard College, 1914-18; University of Chicago, March, 1919, to June, 1920; Harvard Graduate School, 1920-23. A.B., 1918; A.M., 1921. Assistant in Economics, University of Chicago, 1919-20; Tutor in the Division of History, Government, and Economics, Harvard, 1921-22; Frederick Sheldon Travelling Fellow, Harvard, 1922-23; Instructor in Economics and Tutor in the Division of History, Government, and Economics, Harvard, 1923-4.

GENERAL SUBJECTS: 1. Economic Theory and Its History. 2. Economic History since 1750. 3. Public Finance. 4. Money and Banking. 5. International Trade and Tariff Policy. 6. American History since 1789.

SPECIAL SUBJECT: Money and Banking.

COMMITTEE: Professors Young (chairman), Taussig, Williams,
and Sprague.

THESIS SUBJECT: The Theory of International Prices and its History.

COMMITTEE ON THESIS: Professors Taussig, Young, and Persons.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Division of History, Government, and Economics. Ph.D. exams and records of candidates, study plans, lists, etc. pre-1911-1942. Box 5. Unmarked Envelope/Folder

_______________________

Image Source:  James Waterhouse Angell’s July 18, 1922 U.S. passport application. National Archives.

 

Categories
Economists Harvard

Harvard. Economics Graduate School Records of Jacob Viner. 1914-1922

Records of individual Harvard economics graduate students are strewn across the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the Division of History, Government, and Economics (formerly Division of History and Political Science), and the Department of Economics at Harvard as well as in the archival papers of their professors or themselves. Seek and sometimes ye shall find.

In this post Economics in the Rear-view Mirror presents transcriptions of the items found in the file for Jacob Viner in the papers of the Division of History, Government, and Economics. We see from the application form (then referred to as a “blank”) that the administrative unit responsible for monitoring the satisfaction of the Ph.D. requirements by degree candidates was the Division. Course records and transcripts were issued by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

An interesting anecdote found in the correspondence included below is that Viner committed the indiscretion of announcing in print the completion of his Ph.D. before he had been properly awarded the degree by Harvard. One wonders if his examination committee let him know that they knew and were, like the Dean of the Division, not amused by his presumption.

_______________________

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.

Jacob Viner, Montreal, Canada, May 3rd, 1892.

II. Academic Career: (Mention, with dates inclusive, colleges or other higher institutions of learning attended; and teaching positions held.)

McGill University, Faculty of Arts. Sept. 1911 to May 1914.

III. Degrees already attained. (Mention institutions and dates.)

B.A. McGill University, May 1914.
A.M. Harvard, June 1915.

IV. General Preparation. (Indicate briefly the range and character of your undergraduate studies in History, Economics, Government, and in such other fields as Ancient and Modern Languages, Philosophy, etc.)

History. (1) General Course, (2) History of England, (3) Recent Developments

Government. (1) General Course, (2) Govt of Canada, (3) Social Reform.

Latin. Two college years. — Horace, Tibullus, Caesar, Livy, Cicero.

French. Two college years advanced work.

Philosophy. (1) Logic, (2) History of Ethics, (3) Theory of Ethics.

Economics. (1) Economic History of England, (Canadian Industrial Problems. (3) Money & Banking, and courses listed [below].

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.)

    1. Economic Theory.
      Elementary & Advanced Courses at McGill.
      11, Ec. 12a (1914-15), Ec. 17, Ec. 7a, Ec 14, at Harvard.
    2. International Trade.
      33 (full course.) Harvard.
    3. Public Finance.
      Course at McGill.
      31, Harvard.
    4. Course at McGill.
      Ec. 8, Ec. 18, Harvard.
    5. Economic History since 1770.
      2a, Ec. 2b, Harvard.
    6. Theory of Value. (Philosophy.).
      Phil 25a

VII. Special Subject for the special examination.

International Trade

VIII. Thesis Subject. (State the subject and mention the instructor who knows most about your work upon it.)

International Balance of Payments
Prof. Taussig

IX. (Indicate any preferences as to the time of the general and special examinations.)

Spring, 1916 (General).

X. Remarks

[Left blank]

Signature of a member of the Division certifying approval of the above outline of subjects.

[signed] F. W. Taussig

*   *   *   [Last page of application] *   *   *

[Not to be filled out by the applicant]

Name: Jacob Viner

Approved: Jan 21, 1916

Ability to use French certified by C. J. Bullock 7 April 1916 D.H.

Ability to use German certified by C. J. Bullock 7 April 1916 D.H.

Date of general examination May 19, 1916 Passed

Thesis received February, 1921

Read by Professors Taussig, Persons, and Young

Approved October 29, 1921

Date of special examination Friday, March 18, 1921

Recommended for the Doctorate January, 1922

Degree conferred February, 1922

Remarks. [Left blank]

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Record of JACOB VINER in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Harvard University

1914-15
Economics 11.
[Economic Theory, Prof. Taussig]		 A
Economics 121
[Scope and Methods of Economic Investigation, Prof. Carver]		 A-
Economics 17
[Economic Theory: Value and Related Problems, Asst. Prof. Anderson]		 A
Economics 33 (full co. [full course])
[International Trade, with special reference to Tariff Problems in the United States, Prof. Taussig]		 A
Economics 34
[Problems of Labor, Prof. Ripley]		 B-
German A
[Elementary Course]		 B+
University Scholar
A.M. at Commencement.
1915-16
Economics 2a1
[European Industry and Commerce in the Nineteenth Century, Prof. Gay]		 A-
Economics 2b2
[Economic and Financial History of the United States, Prof. Gay]		 abs.
Economics 7a1
[Economic Theory, Prof. Taussig] [Note: this course not included in GSAS record for Viner]		 abs.
Economics 81
[Principles of Sociology, Prof. Carver]		 A
Economics 14
[History and Literature of Economics to the year 1848, Prof. Bullock]		 (A)…mid-year grade, excused from final
Economics 18a2
[Analytical Sociology, Asst. Prof. Anderson]]		 credit for residence
Economics 31
[Public Finance, Prof. Bullock]		 (A-)…mid-year grade, excused from final
Philosophy 182
[Present Philosophical Tendencies. Materialism, Pragmatism, Idealism, and Realism. Prof. R. B. Perry]		 abs.
Philosophy 25a1
[Theory of Value, Prof. R. B. Perry]		 A-
Henry Lee Memorial Fellow.

Note: Original record found in Harvard University Archives. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Record Cards of Students, 1895-1930, Sun—Walls (UAV 161.2722.5). File I, Box 14, Record Card of Jacob Viner.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS

F. W. Taussig
T. N. Carver
W. Z. Ripley
C. J. Bullock
E. F. Gay
W. M. Cole
O. M. W. Sprague
E. E. Day
B. M. Anderson, Jr.
H. L. Gray

Cambridge, Massachusetts
April 7, 1916.

This is to certify that I have examined Mr. J. Viner, and find that he has a good reading knowledge of French and German.

[signed] Charles J. Bullock

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

7 April 1916

Dear Perry:

Could you serve as one of the committee for the General Examination of Jacob Viner on Friday, May 19, at 4 p.m.?

Sincerely yours,
[copy unsigned]

Professor R. B. Perry.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Cambridge April 8-‘16

I shall be glad to help out with Viner’s General Exam on May 19.

[signed] R B Perry

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS

F. W. Taussig
T. N. Carver
W. Z. Ripley
C. J. Bullock
E. F. Gay
W. M. Cole
O. M. W. Sprague
E. E. Day
B. M. Anderson, Jr.

Cambridge, Massachusetts
May 20, 1916.

Dear Haskins:

I beg to certify that Jacob Viner passed satisfactorily his general examination for the degree of Ph. D. in Economics. I enclose his application for your files.

Very truly yours,
[signed] F. W. Taussig

Dean C. H. Haskins.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

7 February 1921

Dear Mr. Viner,

Your letter of 22 January gives this office its first information that you plan to be a candidate for the Doctor’s degree this year. Will you kindly fill out and return at once the enclosed blank, which was due 15 January?

If you plan to have your Special Examination arranged in the middle of March, you will have to give a wider margin for an examination of your thesis than you indicate in your letter.

At least a month will be necessary between the receipt of the thesis and the time provisionally set for the examination. In arranging the examinations of non-resident students we try to consider their convenience; but there must be due notice in advance, and due opportunity for reading the thesis in its final form with deliberation.

You raise the question of the subject on which you are to be examined. Does that mean that you desire to change the special field, which on your plan is indicated an International Trade?

If your thesis does not reach us until the first of March, we could doubtless arrange to examine you some Saturday after 1 April; or possibly early in June, at the conclusion of your instruction for the spring quarter.

Yours very truly,
[unsigned copy]

Mr. Jacob Viner.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

17 February 1921

My dear Professor Persons:

Dean Haskins would be glad if you would serve on the committee to read the thesis of Mr. Jacob Viner, entitled “The Canadian Balance of International Indebtedness, 1900-13.” The thesis will reach you within a few days.

Very truly yours,
[unsigned copy]
Secretary of the Division.

Professor W. M. Persons.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

17 February 1921

My dear Professor Young:

Dean Haskins would be glad if you would serve on the committee to read the thesis of Mr. Jacob Viner, entitled “The Canadian Balance of International Indebtedness, 1900-13.” The thesis will reach you within a few days.

Very truly yours,
[unsigned copy]
Secretary of the Division.

Professor A. A. Young

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

17 February 1921

My dear Professor Taussig:

Dean Haskins will be very glad if you will read Mr. Jacob Viner’s Ph.D. thesis, which is now in your hands, and he has included Professor Persons among the members of the Committee, as you suggested. Professor Day would appreciate it, however, if he could be relieved from serving on the Committee on account of pressure of work, and Mr. Haskins has appointed Professor Young to read the thesis in his place, provided that the change meets with your approval. I enclose an acceptance slip to be included with the thesis.

Very truly yours,
[unsigned copy]
Secretary of the Division.

Professor F. W. Taussig

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS

F. W. Taussig
T. N. Carver
W. Z. Ripley
C. J. Bullock
A. A. Young
W. M. Persons
E. E. Day
J. S. Davis
H. H. Burbank
A. S. Dewing
E. E. Lincoln
A. E. Monroe
A. H. Cole

Cambridge, Massachusetts
February 20, 1921.

Dear Haskins:

Viner is sending me his thesis by instalments.

A previous instalment of considerable size, sent in some time ago, has already been read by Bullock and Day, as well as by myself. Probably we should avoid some waste of energy if these two were put on the thesis committee with myself. Needless to say, this suggestion is to be considered in the light of your apportionment of the general work of thesis reading.

Yesterday over the telephone I suggested on the spur of the moment that Persons might be on the committee. He is thoroly [sic] conversant with the subject, and would be a good member; certainly if Bullock should find it inconvenient to serve.

Sincerely yours,
[signed] F. W. Taussig

Dean C. H. Haskins

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

10 March 1921

My dear Dr. Dewing:

Dean Haskins is arranging the Special Examination of Mr. Jacob Viner for the Ph.D. in Economics for March 18 (Friday) at 4 P.M. Mr. Viner’s field is International Trade.

Would you be able to serve on his Examining Committee? The other members consist of Professors Taussig, (chairman), Young, and Persons.

Since the time before the examination is very short, are to the fact that Mr. Viner’s thesis was in the hands of the Committee until very recently, and had not been approved, we should be glad If you would either return the enclosed card with your signature, or let us know by telephone whether you can serve.

I shall notify you later of the place.

Yours very truly,
[unsigned copy]
Secretary of the Division.

Professor A. S. Dewing.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

I can serve on the Committee for the Special Examination of Mr. Viner on Friday, March 18, at 4 P. M.

[Signed] Arthur S. Dewing

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

11 March 1921

My dear Professor Taussig:

I am sending formal notice to the members of Mr. Viner’s examination committee that the examination will be held on Friday, 18 March, as you suggested. Professor Dewing will serve as the fourth member of the committee, the other three being the members of the thesis committee — yourself, Professor Young, and Professor Persons. I am assuming that the hour will be 4 P.M. as usual.

Very truly yours,
[unsigned]
Secretary of the Division.

Professor F. W. Taussig.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

11 March 1921

My dear Professor Persons:

I am  writing you in order to confirm the arrangements for Mr. Viner’s Special Examination, about which I believe Professor Taussig has already spoken to you. Dean Haskins has set the date as Friday, March 18, and the time will be 4 P. M. Mr. Viner’s special field is International Trade. The Committee consists of Professors Taussig (chairman), Young, Persons, and yourself.

Yours very truly,
[unsigned copy]
Secretary of the Division.

Professor W. M, Persons.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

11 March 1921

My dear Professor Young:

I am writing you in order to confirm the arrangements for Mr, Viner’s Special Examination, of which I believe Professor Taussig has already told you. Dean Haskins has set the date as March 18 (Friday), and the time will be 4 P. M. His special field is International Trade.

The Committee consists of Professors Taussig (chairman), Young, Persons, and Dewing.

Yours very truly,
[unsigned copy]
Secretary of the Division.

Professor A. A. Young.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

15 March 1921

Dear Taussig:

I am enclosing Jacob Viner’s papers for your use at his examination on Friday, 18 March. Viner seems to be very optimistic about his success in his examination, as I notice in the last circular of the University of Chicago he was already listed as a Ph.D. I trust that his attention may be called to the impropriety of his using the degree not only until he has passed the examination but until it is actually conferred.

Sincerely yours,
[unsigned copy]

Professor F. W. Taussig

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS

F. W. Taussig
T. N. Carver
W. Z. Ripley
C. J. Bullock
A. A. Young
W. M. Persons
E. E. Day
J. S. Davis
H. H. Burbank
A. S. Dewing
E. E. Lincoln
A. E. Monroe
A. H. Cole

Cambridge, Massachusetts
March 22, 1921.

Dear Haskins:

I find there is no chance of Viner’s fixing up the thesis before April 1. His commitments for the coming week are many, and moreover his time will be absorbed by teaching upon his return. He will not present himself as a candidate again this year. What may be the status of the examination which he took, and on which the report would be favorable, remains to be seen. I take it this question need not be considered until it is presented.

Very sincerely yours,
[signed] F. W. Taussig

Dean C. H. Haskins

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS

F. W. Taussig
T. N. Carver
W. Z. Ripley
C. J. Bullock
A. A. Young
W. M. Persons
E. E. Day
H. H. Burbank
A. S. Dewing
J. H. Williams
A. E. Monroe
A. H. Cole
R. S. Tucker
R. S. Meriam

Cambridge, Massachusetts
October 29, 1921.

Dear Haskins:

Viner’s thesis has been approved, and the only question that remains is about the acceptance of his Special Examination last June. Young will present the matter for the consideration of the Administrative Board at its next meeting. Will you kindly see that it is on the docket for the meeting?

Sincerely yours,
[signed] F. W. Taussig

Dean C. H. Haskins

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Source: Harvard University Archives. Division of History, Government & Economics. Ph.D. Examinations 1921-22 to 1922-23. Box 4. Folder “Jacob Viner”.

Image Source: University of Chicago Photographic Archive, apf1-08489, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library

Categories
Economists Gender Harvard NBER Radcliffe Smith Vassar

Radcliffe.Economics Ph.D. Alumna, Dorothy Carolin Bacon, 1928

 

This post began after I noticed that it has been some time since I posted biographical and career information for a economics Ph.D. alumna. I figured it would be good to search for a candidate that Economics in the Rear-view Mirror has already caught in an earlier archival trawling expedition but for whom the details of post-doc life had not been added. Dorothy Carolin Bacon was awarded her Radcliffe economics Ph.D. in 1928 and the following item was what I had to start with.

Dorothy Carolin Bacon.

General Examination in Economics, Thursday, May 26, 1927.
Committee: Professors Persons (chairman), Carver, Crum, Gay and Holcombe.
Academic History: Simmons College, 1918-19; Radcliffe College, 1919-22, 1923-24, 1926-. A.B., Radcliffe, 1922; A.M., ibid., 1924. Assistant in Economics, Vassar College, 1924-25. Instructor in Economics, ibid., 1925-26.
General Subjects: 1. Economic Theory. 2. Sociology. 3. History of Political Theory. 4. Statistics. 5. Economic History. 6., Money, Banking and Crises.
Special Subject: Money, Banking and Crises.
Thesis Subject: A Study of the Dispersion of Wholesale Commodity Prices, 1890-1896.  (With Professor Persons.)

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Examinations for the Ph.D. (HUC 7000.70), Folder “Examinations for the Ph.D., 1926-1927”.

________________________

One of the items that came up after searching for a Google search was an advertisement for her handwritten Radcliffe student journal notes from her Physics course in 1922. Besides being surprised to see a list price of $750.00 for this notebook, I was intrigued by the relatively detailed information provided about Dorothy Bacon. While everything about the text struck me as fully plausible, I thought it worth some due diligence to confirm what I could from the bookseller’s bio-blurb. I have added links wherever possible to sources that confirm the details below. It would appear that information from the above item in Economics in the Rear-view Mirror as well as from the Dzuback chapters in Madden and Dimand (eds.)  and Margaret A. Nash (ed.) have provided some (or even much) of what was included in the D. Anthem advertisement that follows.

The section on Smith College in Mary Ann Dzuback’s chapter “Women economists in the academy: struggles and strategies, 1900-1940” in the Routledge Handbook of the History of Women’s Economic Thought, Kirsten Madden and Robert W. Dimand (eds.) provides information on Dorothy Bacon from the faculty files of the Smith College Archives [Office of President William Allan Neilson Files, Box 364, Folder 34]:

Bacon came to Smith a year before finishing her Ph.D. at Radcliffe in 1928. She took research and service sabbatical leaves to work for the Works Progress Administration and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in the 1930s. She focused her research on money flows during the 1930s, cost price problems, and the development of federal level credit institutions. By the 1940s, she was working with the federal Office of Price Administration. By the 1950s, she was consulting with the Brookings Institution, had been a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, and received grants from the SSRC. She published a monograph on the recent economic history of five towns around Northampton, Massachusetts, in the late 1930s, and was completing a book on the development of Philippine credit institutions by 1970.

________________________

Another paragraph by Mary Ann Dzuback

From: Mary Ann Dzuback. Chapter 7. Research at Women’s Colleges, 1890-1940. Women’s Higher Education in the United States (Historical Studies in Education), edited by Margaret A. Nash. Palgrave Macmillan, 2018.

Dorothy Bacon (1927–54) arrived in 1928, eventually taking an endowed chair. She investigated the flows of currency during the Depression, cost price problems, and the growth of credit institutions, and was in great demand by private research agencies and the federal government. A sometime consultant with the National Bureau of Economic Research, in the 1920s and 1930s she worked with a range of government and research agencies. She was awarded grants by the Social Science Research Council and published regularly. Bacon’s record of research and service, and her sabbaticals, suggest that women social science scholars at Smith were encouraged to use their research to inform policy at the federal and international levels.

________________________

From: Advertisement for “Economist Dorothy Bacon’s 1922 Physics 2 Journal from Radcliffe College (1922)

Dorothy Carolin Bacon was born in 1902 to George Preston Bacon, a professor of Physics and Dean of both the Tufts Engineering School and the Bromfield-Pearson School, and Hannah Churchill Bacon, a trained nurse. Her sister, Ruth Bacon, also attended Radcliffe College and later became the first female officer of a State Department geographical bureau (Bureau of Eastern Affairs). Bacon attended Simmons College from 1918-19 before transferring to Radcliffe, the former women’s liberal arts college that fully merged with Harvard in 1999. She earned her B.A. (1922), M.A. (1924) and Ph.D (1927) [sic, 1928] there with her dissertation concerning A Study of the Dispersion of Wholesale Commodity Prices, 1890-1896. While at Radcliffe she also worked for the Federal Reserve Board’s Division of Research and Analysis [as a Statistical Clerk starting 1 July 1922] earning an annual salary of $1600 before resigning [May 10] in 1923.

She was hired as an assistant professor [sic, “Assistant” is a lower rank than “Assistant Professor”] in economics at Vassar in 1924 [cf. AER, Vol. 14, No. 4 (Dec. 1924), p. 829 “Miss Dorothy C. Bacon is assistant in economics at Vassar College.”], but was recruited by Esther Lowenthal, Dean of the Faculty and chair of the economics department at Smith, to join Smith’s faculty in 1927. At Smith she focused her research on money flows during the 1930s, cost price problems, and the development of credit institutions at the federal level. In 1930, she was one of three research associates selected for the National Bureau of Economic Research where she studied the relation of current stock prices to earnings per share from the twenty corporations comprising the Index of Industrial Stock Prices of the Harvard Economic Service. Her monograph, Recent Economic History of the Five Towns (1937) was published by the Works Progress Administration. In 1942, Bacon left her post at Smith [sic, only temporary leave] to work under Leon Henderson at the Office of Price Administration. It was there that she wrote a study of the scrap metal market in Syracuse, NY. By the 1950s, she was consulting with the Brookings Institution and was publishing her research in the Review of Economic Statistics, the Journal of the American Statistical Association and the National Encyclopedia. She appears to have never married [she wasn’t]  and when she died in 1998 she was buried at Shawsheen Cemetery in Bedford, MA, alongside her parents and sister.

Source: D. Anthem, Bookseller advertisement for “Economist Dorothy Bacon’s 1922 Physics 2 Journal from Radcliffe College (1922) [posted price: $750.00!]

________________________

A.E.A. Biographical Listing, 1969

BACON, Dorothy Carolin, academic; b. Beloit, Wis., 1902; student Simmons Coll., 1918-19; A.B., Radcliffe Coll., 1922, A.M., 1924, Ph.D., 1928. FIELDS 2c, 5e, 4a. Research asso., Nat. Bur. Econ. Research, 1930-31; formerly sr. research asso., Fed. Deposit Ins. Corp.; fed. Dir. Research project, Work Progress Adm., 1935-36; asst. div. economist, food price div., OPA [Office of Price Administration], 1943-47, OPS [Office of Price Stabilization], 1951; Fulbright prof., U. Philippines, 1956-57; mem. Faculty, Smith Coll. Since 1927, prof. since 1938, Robert A. Woods prof. since 1956. ADDRESS Smith Coll., 115 Elm St., Northampton, MA 01060.

Note. Fields: 2c (Economic Development Studies); 5e (General International Economics); 4a (Monetary and Financial Theory and Institutions).

Source: The American Economic Review, Vol. 59, No. 6, 1969. Handbook of the American Economic Association (January 1970), p. 17.

________________________

Bachelor of Arts, Radcliffe (1922)

With Distinction in Special Subjects
Cum Laude

Dorothy Carolin Bacon [of] Medford. In Mathematics.

Source: Report of the Dean in Annual Report of Radcliffe College for 1920-1923, p. 43.

________________________

Master of Arts, Radcliffe (1924)

Dorothy Carolin Bacon, A.B.

Source: Report of the Dean in Annual Report of Radcliffe College for 1923-1924, p. 31.

________________________

Doctor of Philosophy, Radcliffe (1928)

Dorothy Carolin Bacon A.M.

Subject, Economics. Special Field, Money and Banking. Dissertation, “Maladjustment of Prices with Special Reference to the Wholesale Prices of Commodities in the United States; 1890-1896”

Source:  Report of the Dean in Annual Reports of Radcliffe College for 1927-1928, p. 23.

________________________

Publications of Dorothy C. Bacon

A Monthly Index of Commodity Prices, 1890-1900. Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 8, No. 4 (October 1926), pp. 177-83.

The Significance of Fixed-base and Link Relatives in Studies of Price Stability: A Comment on the Behavior of Prices. Journal of the American Statistical Association, Vol. 23 (September 1928), pp. 274-81.

Maladjustment of Prices with Special Reference to the Wholesale Prices of Commodities in the United States, 1890-1896. Ph.D. thesis, Radcliffe College.

Encyclopedia articles in the National Encyclopedia.

Recent Economic History of Five Towns. Northampton, Mass.: Smith College, 1937.

________________________

Vital Dates and Miscellaneous Information

Born:  25 February 1902 in Beloit, Wisconsin.

Last Residence: Niceville, Okaloosa, Florida [Socal Security death index].

Died: 8 November in Meriden, New Haven County, Connecticut. [Apparently visiting: the Connecticut Death Index notes her address 2475 Virginia, Residence Andover, District of Columbia].

________________________

Image Source: Senior year picture of Dorothy Carolin Bacon in the  Radcliffe Year Book 1922, p. 23.

 

 

 

Categories
Courses Gender Radcliffe

Radcliffe. Economics course offerings, 1915-1920

 

Here are six previous installments in the series “Economics course offerings at Radcliffe College”:

Pre-Radcliffe economics course offerings and Radcliffe courses for 1893-94,  1894-1900 , 1900-1905 , 1905-1910 , 1910-1915.

______________________________

 

An asterisk (*) designates Graduate courses in Harvard University, to which Radcliffe students were admitted by vote of the Harvard Faculty.

Economics
1915-16

Primarily for Undergraduates:

A. Asst. Professor DAY. — Principles of Economics.

9 Se., 20 Ju., 24 So., 1 Fr., 5 Unc., 2 Sp. Total 61

 

For Undergraduates and Graduates:

2a1 hf. Professor GAY.— European Industry and Commerce in the Nineteenth Century.

2 Gr., 1 Se., 2 Ju., 1 So., 1 Unc., 2 Sp. Total 9

2b2 hf. Professor GAY.— Economic and Financial History of the United States.

3 Gr., 2 Se., 5 Ju., 1 So., 1 Unc., 1 Sp. Total 13

6a1 hf. Mr. P. G. WRIGHT.— Trade-Unionism and Allied Problems.

4 Se., 1 Ju., 1 Unc. Total 6

6b2 hf. Mr. P. G. WRIGHT.— The Labor Movement in Europe.

4 Se., 1 Ju., 1 So., 1 Unc. Total 7

7b2 hf. Asst. Professor ANDERSON.— The Single Tax, Socialism, Anarchism.

1 Ju., 2 So., 1 Sp. Total 4

8a1 hf. Professor CARVER.— Principles of Sociology.

2 Gr., 9 Se., 12 Ju., 1 So., 1 Unc., 3 Sp. Total 28

8b2 hf. Asst. Professor ANDERSON.—  Principles of Sociology.

2 Gr., 2 Se., 5 Ju., 1 Unc. Total 10

Accounting

Associate Professor COLE.— Principles of Accounting.

5 Se. Total 5

Economic Theory and Method

Primarily for Graduates:

*11 Professor TAUSSIG.— Economic Theory.

1 Gr., 1 Se. Total 2

*13. Asst. Professor DAY. — Statistics. Theory, method, and practice.

1 Se. Total 1

*14. Professor BULLOCK. — History and Literature of Economics to the Year 1848.

1 Gr. Total 1

Economic History

*23. Dr. GRAS (Clark College). — Economic History of Europe to the Middle of the Eighteenth Century.

1 Gr. Total 1

Course of Research

20a. Professor GAY. — Economic History.

1 Gr. Total 1

 

Source:  Annual Report of Radcliffe College for 1915-1916. Report of the Chairman of the Academic Board (September 1918), pp. 40-1.

______________________________

Economics
1916-1917

Primarily for Undergraduates:

1. A. Asst. Professor E. E. DAY.— Principles of Economics.

2 Gr., 7 Se., 23 Ju., 19 So., 1 Fr., 3 Unc., 2 Sp. Total 57

For Undergraduates and Graduates:

1a1 hf. Associate Professor COLE.— Accounting.

6 Se., 5 Ju., 1 Sp. Total 12

1b2 hf. Dr. J. S. DAVIS— Statistics.

3 Gr., 3 Se., 4 Ju., 1 Unc. Total 11

1c2 hf. Associate Professor COLE.— Accounting (advanced course).

2 Se., 3 Ju. Total 5

2a1 hf. Professor GAY.— European Industry and Commerce in the Nineteenth Century.

3 Gr., 7 Se., 3 Ju., 1 Unc., 1 Sp. Total 15

2b2 hf. Professor GAY.— Economic and Financial History of the United States.

3 Gr., 8 Se., 6 Ju., 1 So., 1 Unc., 1 Sp. Total 20.

5. Dr. BURBANK, with lectures on selected topics by Professor BULLOCK.— Public Finance, including the Theory and Methods of Taxation.

5 Se., 3 Ju. Total 8

6a1 hf. Mr. P. G. WRIGHT.— Trade Unionism and Allied Problems.

3 Se., 2 Ju., 3 Unc. Total 8

6b2 hf. Mr. P. G. WRIGHT.— The Labor Movement in Europe.

1 Se., 2 Ju. Total 3

7. Asst. Professor ANDERSON.— Economic Theory.

3 Gr., 1 Se., 1 Ju. Total 5

8. Professor CARVER.— Principles of Sociology.

1 Gr., 4 Se., 10 Ju., 1 Unc. Total 16

Economic Theory and Method

Primarily for Graduates:

*11. Asst. Professor DAY.— Economic Theory.

1 Gr. Total 1

*121 hf. Professor CARVER.— The Distribution of Wealth.

2 Gr. Total 2

Applied Economics

*34. Professor RIPLEY.— Problems of Labor.

2 Gr., 2 Se. Total 4

Course of Research

20d. Professor GAY. — Economic History.

1 Gr. Total 1

 

Source:  Annual Report of Radcliffe College for 1916-1917. Report of the Chairman of the Academic Board (September 1918), pp. 91-2.

 

______________________________

Economics
1917-1918

Primarily for Undergraduates:

1. A. Asst. Professor E. E. DAY. — Principles of Economics.

1 Gr., 8 Se., 16 Ju., 29 So., 1 Fr., 7 Unc. Total 62

For Undergraduates and Graduates:

1a1 hf. Associate Professor COLE.— Accounting.

12 Se., 3 Ju., 3 So., 1 Unc. Total 19

1b2 hf. Asst. Professor E. E. DAY.— Statistics.

2 Gr., 5 Se., 3 Ju., 1 Unc. Total 11

1c2 hf. Associate Professor COLE.— Accounting (Advanced Course).

5 Se., 1 Ju., 3 So., 1 Unc. Total 10

2a1 hf. Professor GAY.— European Industry and Commerce in the Nineteenth Century.

6 Gr., 6 Se., 1 Ju., 1 So., 2 Unc. Total 16

2b2 hf. Asst. Professor GRAS (Clark University).—Economic History of the United States.

2 Gr., 4 Se., 1 Ju. Total 7

32 hf. Dr. LINCOLN.— Money, Banking, and Allied Problems.

3 Gr., 7 Se., 4 Ju., 1 So. Total 15

5. Dr. BURBANK, with lectures on selected topics by Professor BULLOCK.— Public Finance, including the Theory and Methods of Taxation.

1 Gr., 4 Se. Total 5

6a1 hf. Dr. LINCOLN.— Labor Problems.

2 Se., 1 Ju., 1 So. Total 4

7. Asst. Professor ANDERSON.— Theories of Social Reform.

4 Se., 1 Ju., 1 So., 1 Unc. Total 7

8. Professor CARVER.—Principles of Sociology.

2 Se., 5 Ju., 5 Unc. Total 12

Primarily for Graduates:

Accounting

Associate Professor COLE.— Accounting Problems.

1 Gr., 3 Se. Total 4

Economic Theory and Method

*11. Professors CARVER and BULLOCK.— Economic Theory.

1 Gr. Total 1

Economic History

*241 hf. Professor GAY. — Topics in the Economic History of the Nineteenth Century.

1 Se. Total 1

Applied Economics

*322 hf. Professor CARVER. — Economics of Agriculture.

1 Gr., 3 Se. Total 4

*34. Professor RIPLEY. —Problems of Labor.

1 Gr., 1 Se. Total 2

Course of Research

20d. Professor GAY and Asst. Professor GRAS (Clark University). — Economic History.

1 Gr. Total 1

 

Source:  Annual Report of Radcliffe College for 1917-1918. Report of the Chairman of the Academic Board (January 1919), pp. 44-45.

______________________________

Economics
1918-1919

Primarily for Undergraduates:

1. A. Dr. BURBANK. — Principles of Economics.

11 Se., 30 Ju., 16 So., 1 Fr., 13 Unc. Total 71

 

For Undergraduates and Graduates:

1a1 hf. Professor COLE. — Accounting.

1 Gr., 6 Se., 6 Ju., 3 So. Total 16

1c2 hf. Professor COLE. — Accounting (advanced course).

1 Gr., 2 Se., 4 Ju., 2 So. Total 9

2a1 hf. Dr. E. E. LINCOLN. — European Industry and Commerce in the Nineteenth Century.

1 Gr., 7 Se., 3 Ju., 1 So., 2 Unc. Total 14

2b2 hf. Dr. E. E. LINCOLN. — Economic History of the United States.

8 Se., 1 Ju., 1 So., 2 Unc. Total 12

32 hf. Dr. E. E. LINCOLN. — Money, Banking, and Allied Problems.

1 Se., 4 Ju. Total 5

5. Dr. BURBANK, with lectures on selected topics by Professor BULLOCK. — Public Finance, including the Theory and Methods of Taxation.

3 Se. Total 3

6a1 hf. Dr. E. E. LINCOLN. — Trade-Unionism and Allied Problems.

5 Se., 3 Ju., 1 So. Total 9

7a. Professor BULLOCK. — Economic Theory.

9 Se., 3 Ju., 1 Unc. Total 13

8. Professor CARVER. —Principles of Sociology.

5 Se., 6 Ju., 1 So. Total 12

 

Primarily for Graduates:

Accounting

Professor COLE. — Accounting Problems.

1 Gr., 1 Se., 3 Ju., 1 So. Total 6

 

Economic Theory and Method

*13. Dr. PERSONS. — Statistics. Theory, Method, and Practice.

1 Gr., 1 Se., 1 Ju. Total 3

Applied Economics

*34. Professor RIPLEY. —Problems of Labor.

2 Se. Total 2

 

Source:  Annual Report of Radcliffe College for 1918-1919. Report of the Chairman of the Academic Board (January 1920), pp. 41-42.

______________________________

Economics
1919-1920

Primarily for Undergraduates:

1. A. Asst. Professor DAY. — Principles of Economics.

9 Se., 24 Ju., 23 So., 1 Fr., 6 Unc., 2 Sp. Total 65

For Undergraduates and Graduates:

1a1 hf. Professor COLE.— Accounting.

2 Gr., 10 Se., 3 Ju., 2 So., 1 Unc., 1 Sp. Total 19

1b2 hf. Asst. Professor J. S. DAVIS.— Statistics.

9 Se., 6 Ju., 2 So., 2 Unc. Total 19

1c2 hf. Professor COLE.— Accounting (advanced course).

1 Gr., 6 Se., 1 Ju., 2 So., 1 Sp. Total 11

2a1 hf. Dr. E. E. LINCOLN.— European Industry and Commerce in the Nineteenth Century.

2 Se., 1 Ju., 2 Unc. Total 5

2b2 hf. Dr. E. E. LINCOLN.— Economic History of the United States.

1 Gr., 6 Se., 2 Ju., 1 Unc. Total 10

32 hf. Dr. E. E. LINCOLN.— Money, Banking, and Allied Problems.

4 Se., 2 Ju., 2 Unc. Total 8

4b1 hf. Asst. Professor DAVIS. — Economics of Corporations.

1 Gr., 6 Se., 1 Ju. Total 8

5. Asst. Professor BURBANK. — Public Finance, including the Theory and Methods of Taxation.

10 Se., 1 Ju. Total 11

6a1 hf. Dr. E. E. LINCOLN. — Trade-Unionism and Allied Problems.

1 Gr., 1 Se., 3 Ju., 1 Unc. Total 6

8. Professor CARVER. —Principles of Sociology.

2 Gr., 3 Se., 6 Ju., 1 So., 1 Unc. Total 13

Economic Theory and Method

Primarily for Graduates:

*11. Professor TAUSSIG. — Economic Theory.

2 Gr., 3 Se. Total 5

*121 hf. Professor CARVER. — The Distribution of Wealth.

1 Gr., 2 Se. Total 3

*14. Professor BULLOCK. — History and Literature of Economics to the year 1848.

2 Gr. Total 2

Applied Economics

*322 hf. Professor CARVER. — Economics of Agriculture.

1 Se. Total 1

*332 hf. Professor TAUSSIG. — International Trade and Tariff Problems.

1 Gr., 1 Se. Total 2

*341. Professor RIPLEY. — Problems of Labor.

3 Gr., 4 Se., 1 Ju. Total 8

Statistics

*41. Asst. Professor DAY. — Statistics: Theory and Analysis.

2 Gr. Total.2

*42. Asst. Professor DAY. — Statistics: Organization and Practice.

2 Gr. Total 2

Course of Research in Economics

*20. Professor CARVER.

1 Se. Total 1

 

Source:  Annual Report of Radcliffe College for 1919-1920. Report of the Chairman of the Academic Board (January 1921), pp. 41-42.

Image Source:  Barnard and Briggs Halls, Radcliffe College, ca. 1930-1945. Boston Public Library: The Tichnor Brothers Collection.

 

 

Categories
Exam Questions Harvard

Harvard. Final exam questions for commercial crises. Persons, 1925

 

 

Warren Milton Persons (1878-1937) received his S.B. from the University of Wisconsin and Ph.D. from University of Wisconsin in 1916. His major professor was Richard T. Ely and his thesis had the title: “The Variability in the Distribution of Wealth and Income”. An obituary was written for the Journal of the American Statistical Association (Vol. 34, No. 206: June, 1939, pp. 411-415) by William Truant Foster.

Earlier posts in Economics in the Rear-view Mirror for the Harvard course Economics 37:

Reading list for Commercial Crises taught by Persons 1923,
Examination questions for Commercial Crises taught by Persons 1924.

______________

Course Description

[Economics] 37 1hf. Commercial Crises. Half-course(first half-year). Tu., Th., Sat., at 9, or by arrangement.Professor Persons.

The history, literature, and theories of economic prosperity, crises, and depression, with special reference to the problem of forecasting.
An analysis from the point of view of business cycles of the statistics of speculation, prices, production, trade, interest rates, money and banking.

 Source: Division of History, Government, and Economics 1924-25, Official Register of Harvard University, Vol. XXI, No. 22 (April 30, 1925), p. 74.

______________

Course Enrollment

[Economics] 37 1hf. Professor Persons.—Commercial Crises.

Total 16: 9 Graduates, 1 Senior, 1 Junior, 3 Radcliffe, 2 Others.

Source:Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1924-1925, p. 76.

______________

1924-25
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
ECONOMICS 371

  1. ….a.   List, in order of severity of disturbance, the years of crisis, or beginning of marked business recession in the United States since 1837.
    1. Discuss your criteria for “severity of disturbance” and designate the years of crisis.
  2. Outline and discuss briefly the method of construction of the Harvard Index of General Business Conditions.
  3. What positions or movements of the constituent curves of the Index forecast business (a) revival from depression, (b) prosperity, (c) crisis, and (d) recession or depression? Discuss.
  4. Discuss with reference to business cycles:
    ….a.   Commodity prices and their interrelations.

    1. The volume of production of manufactures and mining.
    2. The volume of production of agriculture.
    3. Short-time interest rates.

In your discussion describe the general nature of the data available and indicate their significance.

  1. ….a.  Classify according to any scheme you please the theories of Veblen, Hobson, Aftalion, Bouniatian, Hawtrey, Robertson, Mitchell, Moore, and others.
    1. Discuss your classification.
    2. Outline, compare, and criticize the theories of any two of the writers.

Final. 1925.

 

Source:  Harvard University Archives. Examination Papers, Finals, 1925. (HUC 7000.28, vol. 67). Papers Printed for Final Examinations. History of Science, History, …, Economics, …, Anthropology, Military Science.

Image Source:  ProfessorWarren M. Persons in Harvard Class Album 1920.

Categories
Economists Harvard

Harvard. Economics Ph.D. Alumnus (1922), William Arthur Berridge in mid-career 1939

 

 

 

Today’s posting provides some biographical detail (through age 46) of  William Arthur Berridge (b. 13 April 1893; d. 25 Sept 1973). Harvard Class of 1914, Phi Beta Kappa and 1922 economics Ph.D. that comes from his personal report to the Class of 1914’s twenty-fifth reunion volume. Besides being on the lookout for the artifacts of economics education in the form of course descriptions, notes, reading lists and examination questions, Economics in the Rear View Mirror is interested in the life and career stories of economics Ph.D.’s. Contributions from the community of visitors are very much welcome. Well-told personal anecdotes of time in the trenches as a graduate student would greatly add to this growing collection of material.

___________________

WILLIAM ARTHUR BERRIDGE
HARVARD CLASS OF 1914
[1939 report]

 

Born: Lynn, Mass., Apr. 13, 1893. (Bill). Parents: Frank Berridge, Sadie May Brown.
Prepared at: Classical High School, Lynn, Mass.
Years in College: 1910-1914. Degrees: A.B. magna cum laude, 1914; A.M., 1919; Ph.D., 1922.
Married: Ruth Reid, Cambridge, Mass., Jan. 24, 1918. Children: Katherine Beatrice, May 31, 1919; Ruth Margaret, Mar. 4, 1921.
Occupation: Economist, Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., 1 Madison Ave., New York, N.Y.
Address: 52 Gramercy park North, New York, N. Y.

 

Perhaps the World War which broke out before we had recovered from Commencement did not affect me more than my average classmate. But perhaps it affected me differently from most. One influence that it had was to switch me from physical to social sciences. The route was circuitous, however. My aspirations were, one after another, to enter (1) engineering, (2) physics, (3) mathematics, (4) ministry, (5) social administration or social ethics, (6) statistics, and finally (7) economics. They even overlapped; for, during the two years when I was studying in numbers (4)-(5), the beloved Bôcher got me appointed an instructor in no. (3) over at the College.

The longer I live, the less do I regret all that “batting around.” I find it has enriched my working and living. Even the two years in uniform benefited me and my work in several ways, some of which I did not properly evaluate until years afterward.

In 1919, on nothing at all, we went back to Cambridge, to learn how better to help the world understand, if not solve, the expected war aftermath of economic problems. While studying for a Ph.D., I enjoyed earning a living as a research assistant for Bullock’s and Persons’ Committee on Economic Research, and as an instructor and tutor—this time, for a change, in the same field I was studying—aided by two or three windfalls from writing.

After completing in 1922 my thesis on unemployment, I spent five pleasant years in Providence as assistant (later associate) professor of Economics at Brown, but in 1924 I began devoting half-time to the Metropolitan Life in New York as consulting economist. In 1927 I left Brown to become full-time (and over-time!) economist for that company. It is a voluminous but varied and intensely interesting assignment on the research end, and in addition it is in a very real sense teaching as well. I love the work, and the social-minded institution for which I do it.

Elsewhere in the company, such varied and distinguished research is being done as to create some real “university” atmosphere. I also keep up, as well as I can, contacts with outside research men, in both the academic and the applied fields.

Politics? I still call myself an Independent Democrat, though I have never yet voted for a presidential candidate who won! The personal views that I hold as to many current political conditions and economic policies, I refrain from writing, for I have no asbestos paper.

Travel? During my Coast Artillery experience, travel was confined mostly to a rocky island far out in Boston Harbor, where it was my fate to have a Mine Command—among other duties. So I did not travel abroad until 1922, when (with my wife) I spent the summer in England as a Sheldon Traveling Fellow, consulting British specialists on unemployment. We also discovered numerous Berridges, above as well as below ground. In 1928 I spent a delightful month in France and Germany, ending a year’s sojourn by the family there. Since then I have delegated my foreign traveling wholly to the family—Italy, Greece, etc.

Hobbies? “Puttering around”—making and doing things at my farm in Berkshire County. We also like music, dancing and theater and perhaps 1 in 10 of the movies produced in recent years. So far, I have never made headway toward realizing either of two old aspirations: (1) to become a “Sunday painter” in both oils and water color, (2) to write a play that would “make” Broadway.

Publications: “Cycles of Unemployment in the U.S.,” Houghton Mifflin Co., 1923; “Purchasing Power of the Consumer” (with two others), A. W. Shaw Company, 1925; “Employment Statistics for the U.S.” (with one other), Russell Sage Foundation, 1926; One chapter in “Unemployment and Business Cycles,” McGraw-Hill Company, 1923; various articles on economic subjects, such as unemployment, labor turnover, gold, silver, foreign trade, U.S. and U.K. business conditions, etc.

Member of: American Economic Association; American Statistical Assn. (fellow); Social Science Research Council (to 1939, representing A.S.A.); American Farm Economic Assn.; Academy of Political Science; American Academy of Political and Social Science; Royal Economic Society, Royal Statistical Society, England; Harvard Club of New York City; Cosmos Club, Washington, D.C.

 

Source:   Harvard College Class of 1914 Twenty-fifth Anniversary Report. Cambridge, MA: Cosmos Press, 1939, pp. 52-54.

Image Source:  Cover of Harvard Class Album 1946.

Categories
Economists Fields Harvard

Harvard. Five Ph.D. Examinees in Economics, 1909-10

 

 

For five Harvard economics Ph.D. candidates this posting provides information about their respective academic backgrounds, the six subjects of their general examinations along with the names of the examiners, the subject of their special subject, thesis subject and advisor(s) (where available).

________________________________________

 

DIVISION OF HISTORY AND POLITICAL SCIENCE
EXAMINATIONS FOR THE DEGREE OF PH.D.
1909-10

Notice of hour and place will be sent out three days in advance of each examination.
The hour will ordinarily be 4 p.m

Melvin Thomas Copeland.

Special Examination in Economics, Friday, December 14, 1909.
General Examination passed May 13, 1908.
Committee: Professors Ripley (chairman), Hart, Carver, Sprague, and Munro.
Academic History: Bowdoin College, 1902-06; Harvard Graduate School, 1906-09; A.B. (Bowdoin), 1906; A. M. (Harvard) 1907. Austin Teaching Fellow (Harvard), 1908-09; Instructor, 1909-10.
Special Subject: Economic History of the United States.
Thesis Subject: “The Organization of the Cotton Manufacturing Industry in the United States.” (With Professors Taussig and Gay.)
Committee on Thesis: Professors Gay, Ripley, and Sprague.

William Jackman.

Special Examination in Economics, Monday, May 9, 1910.
General Examination passed Wednesday, May 22, 1907.
Committee: Professors Gay (chairman), Channing, Ripley, Sprague, and Cross.
Academic History: University of Toronto, 1892-96; University of Pennsylvania, 1899-1900; Harvard Graduate School, 1905-07; A.B. (Toronto), 1896; A. M. (ibid.) 1900. Assistant Professor of Economics, University of Vermont, 1901-.
Special Subject: Modern Economic History of England.
Thesis Subject: “The Development of Transportation in Modern England before the Steam Railway Era.” (With Professor Gay.)
Committee on Thesis: Professors Gay, Sprague, and Cross.

Eliot Jones.

General Examination in Economics, Thursday, May 19, 1910.
Committee: Professors Ripley (chairman), Hart, Carver, Gay, and Sprague.
Academic History: Vanderbilt University, 1900-07; Harvard Graduate School, 1907-10; A.B. (Vanderbilt), 1906; A. M. (Harvard) 1908. Austin Teaching Fellow (Harvard), 1909-10.
General Subjects: 1. Economic Theory and its History. 2. Economic History since 1750. 3. Statistics. 4. Money, Banking, and Industrial Organization. 5. Transportation and Foreign Commerce. 6. History of American Institutions.
Special Subject: Transportation.
Thesis Subject: “The Anthracite Coal Trade.” (With Professor Ripley.)

George Milton Janes.

General Examination in Economics, Friday, May 20, 1910.
Committee: Professors Ripley (chairman), Emerton, Gay, Carver, and Sprague.
Academic History: Bangor Theological Seminary, 1896-99; Dartmouth College, 1899-1901; Harvard Divinity School, 1901-02; 1906-08; Middlebury College, 1902-03; Harvard Graduate School, 1908-10; B.Litt. (Dartmouth), 1901; S.T.B. (Harvard) 1902; A.B. (Middlebury) 1903.
General Subjects: 1. Economic Theory and its History. 2. Economic History to 1750. 3. Economic History since 1750. 4. Sociology and Social Reform. 5. Transportation and Industrial Organization. 6. Church History since the Council of Constance.
Special Subject: Economic History of the United States.
Thesis Subject: “Canal and Railroad in New York.” (With Professor Gay.)

Charles Edward Persons.

Special Examination in Economics, Monday, May 23, 1910.
General Examination passed February 23, 1909.
Committee: Professors Ripley (chairman), Gay, Carver, and Sprague.
Academic History: Cornell College (Iowa), 1898-1903; Harvard Graduate School, 1904-05, 1906-09; A.B. (Cornell College), 1903; A. M. (Harvard) 1905. Instructor in Economics, Wellesley College, 1908-09; Preceptor, Princeton University, 1909-.
Special Subject: Industrial History of the United States.
Thesis Subject: “The History of the Ten-Hour Law in Massachusetts.” (With Professor Taussig.)
Committee on Thesis: Professors Taussig, Bullock, and Ripley.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Examinations for the Ph.D. (HUC 7000.70), Folder “Examinations for the Ph.D., 1909-10”.

Image Source: Widener Library, 1915. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C. Digital ID:  cph 3c14486

Categories
Exam Questions Harvard

Harvard. Final Exam for Persons’ Commercial Crises Course, 1924

 

 

Here we add to the previously posted course outline with links to nearly the entire reading list (!) of Professor Warren M. Persons’ course at Harvard on Commercial Crises from first semester of 1923-24. The final examination questions for that course are transcribed below along with a description for the same course a year later. 

_____________________________

Course Description (1924-25)

37 1hf. Commercial Crises. Half-course (first half-year). Tu., Th., Sat., at 9, or by arrangement. Professor Persons.

The history, literature, and theories of economic prosperity, crises, and depression, with special reference to the problem of forecasting.
An analysis from the point of view of business cycles of the statistics of speculation, prices, production, trade, interest rates, money and banking.

Source: Harvard University. Division of History, Government, and Economics in Official Register of Harvard University, Vol. XXI, No. 22 (April 30, 1924), p. 74.

_____________________________

 

Final Examination
Commercial Crises
Professor Warren Milton Persons

1923-24
HARVARD UNIVERSITY

ECONOMICS 371

Write on three or more questions

1.     (a) What classes of fluctuations are to be found in series of economic statistics?

(b) How may the sequence in cyclical movements of economic series be established?

(c) What is the sequence of movements of stock prices, New York bank debits, pig-iron production, general commodity prices, outside bank debits, bank loans and discounts, and rates on commercial paper?

(d) Give an economic interpretation of the sequence.

2.     (a) What are the levels and directions of movement of commodity prices, manufacturing output, stock prices, and money rates:

During the months immediately preceding an economic crisis?
After the culmination of commodity prices?
During business revival and prosperity?

(b) Discuss the ways, means, and limitations of forecasting general business conditions.

3. State the fact and discuss the significance with reference to business cycles of the following:

(a) The correlation between the output and prices of manufactured goods;

(b) The correlation between the production and prices of agricultural goods;

(c) Differences in the violence of fluctuation of the output of producers’ and consumers’ goods, transportation of goods, merchandising, and consumption of goods;

(d) Differences in the violence of fluctuations of various classes of commodity prices.

4. Discuss the following:

(a) The periodicity of business cycles.

(b) Are crises and depressions international?

(c) Are business cycles “self-generating”?

(d) Is there a “typical” cycle?

5.    (a) Classify according to any scheme you please the theories of Veblen, Hobson, Aftalion, Bouniatian, Hawtrey, Robertson, Mitchell, Moore, and others.

(b) Discuss your classification.

(c) Outline and criticize the theory of any one of these writers.

6.     Give and discuss in full a program for the stabilization of industry and prices.

 

Final. 1922.

 

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University. Final Examinations, 1853-2001 (HUC 7000.28, 66 of 284). Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Papers Printed for Final Examinations: History, History of Religions, … , Economics, … , Psychology, Social Ethics, June, 1924.

Image Source: Harvard Album, 1924.