Overview
Allyn Abbott Young (1876-1929), economist and teacher, was a professor of economics at Harvard University from 1920 to 1927. Young applied mathematical tools for a more precise formation of economic theory and supported a closer interaction between economic study and general social analysis. The collection chiefly includes Young’s correspondence, writings, teaching materials documenting his career as an economist from 1898 to 1928.
Dates
- Creation: 1898-1928
Creator
- Young, Allyn Abbott, 1876-1929. (Person)
Researcher Access
Open for research.
Extent
2.61 cubic feet ((8 document boxes, 2 pamphlet binders, 1 folder, 1 accordion folder) )This collection includes correspondence, writings, and reports, documenting the career of Allyn Abbott Young as an economist and teacher of economics from 1898 to 1928. Detailed is Young's interaction with prominent economists, politicians, educators, and colleagues on such topics as German war reparations, peace in Europe after World War I, and the teaching of economics, statistics, and mathematics in secondary schools. Young's correspondents include Herbert Hoover, Joseph A. Schumpeter, John Maynard Keyes, and Margaret Sanger. Also included in the collection are Young's lecture notes for his economics courses at Harvard in the 1920s and his course materials before joining the Harvard faculty.
Biographical note on Allyn Abbott Young
Allyn Abbott Young (1876-1929), economist and teacher, was a professor of economics at Harvard University from 1920 to 1927. Young applied mathematical tools for a more precise formation of economic theory and supported a closer interaction between economic study and general social analysis.
Young earned his BA (1894) from Hiram College and his PhD (1902) from the University of Wisconsin. Before joining the Harvard faculty in 1920, Young taught at Western Reserve University (1902-1904), Dartmouth College (1904-1905), the University of Wisconsin (1906-1908), Stanford University (1908-1911), Harvard University (1910-1911), Washington University (1911-1913), and Cornell University (1913-1920). Young taught economics at Harvard University from 1920 to 1927 when he took a leave of absence to teach at the London School of Economics at the University of London. After developing pneumonia, Young died on March 6, 1929.
During World War I, Young was one of a group of scholars who went to Europe to study international problems related to an expected peace settlement. In 1918, Young served as a member of the American peace delegation to the Paris Peace Conference as a consultant on German war reparations and post-war international trade policies.
Young did not publish a large body of works. He wrote many reviews, notes, and some complex papers. His more notable publications include Economic Problems New and Old (1927) and An Analysis of Banking Statistics (1927). He also was a joint author of the 1909, 1916, and 1923 revised editions of Richard T. Ely's Outlines of Economics.
Young married Jessie Bernice Westlake on August 10, 1904 (1879-1959). They had one son, John Westlake Young (1906-1982).
Arrangement
The collection is organized in six series:
- Biographical information and other records, [circa 1898-1928] (HUG 1891)
- Correspondence files, 1898-1928 (HUG 1891.5)
- Correspondence between Allyn Abbott Young and Herbert Hoover, [circa 1920s] (HUG 1891.8)
- Lectures for Harvard University courses, [circa 1920-1927] (HUG 1891.10)
- Pre-Harvard University writings, course materials, and reprints, [circa 1902-1920] (HUG 1891.12)
Acquisition information
Specific acquisition information, when available, is noted at the series level.
- Transferred from the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum, 1975 (HUG 1891.8)
- Received from the Estate of Allyn Abbott Young, 1959 November (HUG 1891.5)
- Received from the Estate of Allyn Abbott Young, 1959 November (HUG 1891.10)
References
- "Allyn Abbott Young: Twenty-seventh President of the American Economic Association, 1925." The American Economic Review 39, no. 5 (September 1949).
- "Allyn Abbott Young." Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner's Songs, 1936.
- Taussig, Frank W., Charles J. Bullock, and Harold H. Burbank. "Minute on the Life and Services of Professor Allyn Abbott Young." The Quarterly Journal of Economics43, no. 3 (1929).
Processing Information
This finding aid was created in September 2020 by Dominic P. Grandinetti.
Information for this finding aid was assembled from legacy paper inventories, reference sources, and container management data. The collection was not re-examined.
Processing and arrangement details of each series are noted at the series level.
Dates and titles supplied by the archivist appear in brackets.
In all respects, the archivist attempted to retain and preserve the original arrangement and existing relationships of the documents, as established by Allyn Abbott Young.
Alma ID
990006044440203941
Creator
- Young, Allyn Abbott, 1876-1929. (Person)
- Title
- Young, Allyn Abbott, 1876-1929. Papers of Allyn Abbott Young, 1898-1928: an inventory
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- hua77020
Repository Details
Part of the Harvard University Archives Repository
Holding nearly four centuries of materials, the Harvard University Archives is the principal repository for the institutional records of Harvard University and the personal archives of Harvard faculty, as well as collections related to students, alumni, Harvard-affiliates and other associated topics. The collections document the intellectual, cultural, administrative and social life of Harvard and the influence of the University as it emerged across the globe.
Pusey Library
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Cambridge MA 02138 USA
(617) 495-2461
archives_reference@harvard.edu