Herbert Somerton Foxwell (1849-1936)

This chapter gives an overview of Herbert Somerton Foxwell’s contribution to economics. First, it provides some biographical notes on his academic and book-collecting activities, with an emphasis on his assembling of what became known as the Goldsmiths’ Library. It also reviews Foxwell’s association with the historicist movement and his opposition to classical economics. Three sections then provide an assessment of Foxwell’s intellectual contributions to the economics of banking, industrial fluctuations, and the history of economic thought. The chapter ends with some final remarks on the strengths and limitations of Foxwell’s participation in the economic controversies of his time.