Oliver M. W. Sprague

Oliver Mitchell Wentworth Sprague ((1873-04-22)April 22, 1873, Somerville, Massachusetts – (1953-05-24)May 24, 1953, Boston) was an American economist and president of the American Economic Association in 1937.[3] His research focused on fiscal policy and central banking.[1]

Oliver M. W. Sprague
Born(1873-04-22)April 22, 1873
Somerville, Massachusetts
DiedMay 24, 1953(1953-05-24) (aged 80)
Boston
Spouse(s)Fanny Knights Ide
ChildrenKatherine Ida Sprague
Theodore Wentworth Sprague
Parent(s)William Wallace Sprague
Miriam Wentworth Sprague
Academic background
Alma materHarvard University
ThesisThe English Woolen Industry in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries[1]
Doctoral advisorWilliam Ashley[1][lower-alpha 1]
Academic work
DisciplineEconomics
Sub-disciplineFiscal policy, central banking
InstitutionsHarvard University
Imperial University of Tokyo
Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration

Early life and education

Sprague was born to William Wallace (1842–1912), a businessman,[4] and Miriam Sprague (née Wentworth) on April 22, 1873, in Somerville, Massachusetts. He attended St. Johnsbury Academy and graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University in 1894.[1] He went on to further study at Harvard, receiving an AM in 1896 and PhD in political science in 1897.[1][5]

Career

After a year of study in England, Sprague took up a position as an instructor at his alma mater in 1900 and was promoted to assistant professor of economics in 1904. The Imperial University of Tokyo appointed him as a full professor of economics in 1905, where he stayed until 1908 when he returned to Harvard as an assistant professor of banking and finance at the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration.[6] He was made Edmund Cogswell Converse Professor of Banking and Finance in 1913, a post he held until his retirement in 1941.[5][7]

He was elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1931 and member of the American Philosophical Society in 1938.[8][9]

He served on the editorial board of the Quarterly Journal of Economics from 1909 to 1920.[1]

Other activities

Sprague held numerous advisory roles throughout his career. The Bank of England appointed him Chief Economist from 1930 to 1933; he was the second American to occupy this role.[lower-alpha 2][1][10] He also advised the Reichsbank, the Bank of France, the Bank for International Settlements, and the League of Nations. He was a member of the League's Gold Delegation, which promoted the Gold Standard.[6]

Following his stint at the Bank of England, he served as assistant to the Secretary of the Treasury in 1933, a role he left the same year due to disagreement over the optimal path to recovery for the US economy.[6]

He used his expertise for various positions in the private sector too. He was a director of the National Shawmut Bank and a foreign exchange advisor to the General Motors Corporation.[6]

Personal life

Sprague married Fanny Knights Ide in 1905. They had two children, Katherine Ida and Theodore Wentworth Sprague.[lower-alpha 3][1][5] He had four siblings: Charles Wentworth, Maude, Arthur and William.[4] The number of publications he could author was limited by his poor eyesight.[1]

Footnotes
  1. Charles Franklin Dunbar according to INET's HET.[2]
  2. Following Walter W. Stewart, who served 1928–1930.
  3. Theodore (1912–2000) would graduate from the University of Cambridge, attend Johns Hopkins University for a year and receive his PhD in economics and sociology from Harvard in 1942, writing about "Some problems in the integration of social groups, with special reference to Jehovah's Witnesses", then become an instructor in sociology at the University of Connecticut. He went on to teach sociology at Earlham College and Colgate University. He became a competitive dog breeder after his retirement.[11][12][13][14]

References
  1. Cole, Arthur H.; Masson, Robert L.; Williams, John H. (1954). "O. M. W. Sprague 1873-1953". The American Economic Review. 44 (1): 131–132. ISSN 0002-8282. JSTOR 1803068.
  2. "HET: O.M.W. Sprague". www.hetwebsite.net. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  3. "American Economic Association | Past Presidents". www.aeaweb.org. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  4. Humanities, National Endowment for the (June 12, 1912). "St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, June 12, 1912, Image 4". St. Johnsbury Caledonian. ISSN 2331-7728. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  5. "Register of Papers: Oliver Mitchell Wentworth Sgrague" (PDF). COMMITTEE ON THE HISTORY OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM. November 1, 1955.
  6. "Oliver Mitchell Wentworth Sprague". The American Economic Review. 43 (5). 1953. ISSN 0002-8282. JSTOR 1808731.
  7. "Sprague, Oliver Mitchell Wentworth, (22 April 1873–24 May 1953), Professor of Banking and Finance", Who Was Who, Oxford University Press, December 1, 2007, doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u243228, retrieved January 7, 2021
  8. "Oliver Mitchell Wentworth Sprague". American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  9. "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  10. Cole, Arthur H.; Masson, Robert L.; Williams, John H. (1954). "Erratum". The American Economic Review. 44 (3): 396. ISSN 0002-8282. JSTOR 1810812.
  11. "Doctoral Dissertations". The American Economic Review. 33 (3): 767–790. 1943. ISSN 0002-8282. JSTOR 1813040.
  12. "Higher Degrees in Sociology Conferred in 1942". American Journal of Sociology. 49 (1): 67–73. July 1, 1943. doi:10.1086/219313. ISSN 0002-9602. S2CID 222447923.
  13. "Minutes, April 21, 1943". University of Connecticut, UCONN library.
  14. "The Boston Globe from Boston, Massachusetts on September 7, 2000 · 35". Newspapers.com. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
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