Adam Shortt

Adam Shortt
File:Adam Shortt.PNG
Born	November 24, 1859 Kilworth, Ontario, Canada
Died	Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Occupation	political economist

Adam Shortt, CMG FRSC (November 24, 1859 – January 14, 1931) was an economic historian in Ontario. He was the first full-time employed academic in the field at a Canadian university (Queen's University.)

While a lecturer at Queen's, he was appointed as the editor of the Queen's Journal and is largely credited with moving the paper from a strict focus on campus matters to a more mixed discussion on all university interests, particularly to broaden the readership amongst alumni. He is most well known for his research into the history of Canadian banking and for his association with the National Archives of Canada.

Regarded as the father of professional economics in Canada, Shortt took a historical approach as differentiated from economic theory, as he believed that the economics of nations depend on natural resources, geographic location, and specific economic attributes. He was self-taught, went to Queen's University and took courses on a wide range of subjects. Shortt went on to Glasgow University for his master's degree in political economy.

In 1906 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and a Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1911.

Further reading

• Berger, Carl. The Writing of Canadian History: Aspects of English-Canadian Historical Writing Since 1900 (2nd ed. 1987), pp 1-31.
• Neatby, Hilda (1978) Queen's University: Volume 1, 1841–1917 To strive, to seek, to find and not to yield, McGill-Queen's University Press ISBN 0773503366.

External links

• http://www2.marianopolis.edu/quebechistory/encyclopedia/AdamShortt-CanadianHistory.htm