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Period: to
The 18th Century
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Adam Smith is Born
It is said that Adam Smith was born on June 5th, 1723 in Kirkcaldy, Scotland (Magill): A small mufacturing town in the 18th century. Adam Smith's Father had held many important positions such as being the secretery of State in Scotland, but unfortunately he passed away several weeks before Adam Smith was born. As a result Smith was very close to his Mother (Livingphilosophy.org). -
Persian Civil Wars
The Persian Civil Wars took place in Persia, present day Iran. The Persian civil wars began when the Safavid Dynasty began to fall apart and constant invasions placed Persia into a state of caos. After constant fighting for the throne Karim Khan prevailed, bringing a period of peace. Significantly, forgetting to leave an heir, fighting continued leading upto the rise of the modern Qajar Dynasty and terminal end of the Safavids (Powell). -
The Treaty of Seville is Signed
During the time of War of Succession, Spain and Britain were at constant warfare with one another over the land of Gibraltar. Great Britain captured Gibraltar from Spain and after the failed attempt to create peace using the Treaty of Utrecht, Spain attacked Great Britain and violence continued until 1729. In November, The Treaty of Seville created temporary peace, but never solved the dispute over gibraltar resulting in more warfare over time (Powell). -
Adam Smith attends University of Glasgow
Adam Smith first studied at the Univeristy of Glasgow in 1737 at age 14. Adam Smith studied at the University for three years creating a strong relationship with his school teacher Francis Hutchinson. Significantly, both men were strongly philosophical and came upon the conclusion that morals do not tie in with religion (LivingPhilosophy.org). Soon after, Smith won the Snell Exhibition award permitting him to study at Balliol College, Oxford (Magill). -
Adam Smith attends Oxford Univerisity
Adam Smith received the Snell Exhibition award and was given the oppurtunity to become a highly regarded priest at Balliol College . However, Smtih being Philosophically minded, Smith had come to the conclusion philosophy and religion do not mix together (LivingPhilosophy.org). Smith eventually studied various philosophical topics until 1746 when he returned to live with his mother for 2 more years (Magill). -
Adam Smith gives Lectures at Edinburg
After leaving Oxford University, Smith found himself giving small lectures to the people at Edinburg University. These lectures were significant mainly due to the fact that they structured his novel "Theory of Moral Sentiments" and truly established Smiths reputation as he became noticed by Scottish philosopher/economist David Hume (Magill). Smith and Hume's friendship and lectures brought Smith to become a Professor at the University of Glasgow in 1751 (Biography.com). -
Smith is appointed to Chair of Moral Philosophy at Glasgow
Due to his siginicant open lectures at the University of Edinburg, Smith was given an excellent position at Glasgow University as a professor and more importantly, the Chair of Moral Philosophy and Logic (Biography.com). Smith taught the subjects of ethics, rheteric and law (Magill). This job was significnt because of his position and highlighted his public speaking skills in which he involved his audience through vivid pictures and good planned out lectures (LivingPhilosophy.org) -
Smith becomes Quaestor at Glasgow
Adam Smith became the "Quaestor" or financial manager at Glasgow. As "Quaestor" he often managed library funds and got college accounts'finances passed by Parliament. Along with this, significantly he held this position for a six year period rather the the general term of 2-3, proving his strong ability in other fields rather than philosophy and exemplifying massive contribution to the University (econlib.org). -
Smith writes "The Theory of Moral Sentiments"
As was mentioned before, one of Adam Smith's most important novels was the "Theory of Moral Sentiments." This novel was based off the philosophical lectures on ethics he gave at the University of Edinburg (Magill) The novel centers around the idea of morality while deeply explaing how Individuals become accepted into a society heavily reliant on the ideas of Justice. This novel made Smith widely accepted, but also got him a life changing job tutoring the Duke of Buccleach (AdamSmith.org). -
Smith beome Vice Rector at Glasgow
In 1762, adding to his contributions to the University of Glasgow he became the Vice Rector of the college. The Vice Rector was similar to the Vice President of colleges we have today. Here Smith attended many College Senate meetings consisting of the Head Rector and professors. Smith continued to provide innovative insight at these meetings to solve problems and promote new activity (econlib.org). -
Smith Tours Europe
Once Adam Smith wrote "The Theory of Moral Sentiments," he was greatley recognized and was highered to tutor the Duke of Buccleach (Biography.com). For the world tour, both traveled to France. Traveling to France was very significant Smith's life because he got the oppurtunity to meet American Patriot/Scientist/Philosopher Benjamin Franklin and meet the famous French Economist Turgot. Meeting them influenced Smith's ideas in his novel "Wealth of Nations" (Biography.com) -
Stamp Act Crisis
The Stamp Act crisis took place from March 22, 1765 to March 18th, 1766. In the 1763 the British government was in relied heavily on taxes to repay debt. British government taxed the colonies on stamps, rseulting in the Stamp Act which put a tax on all documents, cards or anything requiring a stamp. In significance, this act brought the colonies together to form the Stamp Act congress, getting the act repealed in 1765 (Powell). -
The Boston Tea Party
Iin 1773 the Tea Act was passed giving The British East India Company a chance to directly sell to colonists without tax, significantly hurting merchant trade. As a result, on this night 36 American Patriots became disguised as Mohawk Indians and dumped all british tea into the harbor, This was significant because it was thought of as the first legitimate act of Protest and caused the establishment of the harsh Coercive Acts, which closed the harbor and much more (Powell). -
Smith writes "Wealth of Nations"
"The Wealth of Nations" was published right around the time Smith returned from his world tour and is most probably the highly praised novel of Smith's lifetime. The novel revolves around the idea of "Laissez Faire" or free trade in the global markets , today known as Capitalism. along with his criticsm toward Mercantilism, and the idea of Labour division (Byres). Significantly, the novel was the first ot describe capitialism and became the basis for capitalist economies today (Magill). -
Carribean Hurricane
The Caribbean Hurricane in the beginning of October in 1780 proved to be very deadly. The storm completely devastated a chain of Islands east of the Caribbean known as the “Lesser Antilles,” The hurricane caused 20,000-26,000 deaths and included the destruction of their harvest. Significantly, the storm hurt Britains economy by disrupting the slave trade and also became the first english colony to be funded by the government for natural disaster relief (Powell). -
David Paints the "Death of Socrates"
Jacques-Louis David was a neoclassical painter in France during the 18th century, whose artistic ideas were shaped by enlightenment thinkers. The neoclassical movement was when artists of time turned to greek and roman art in order to represent the ideas of the French Revolution. His painting of the Death of Socrates, a roman enlightenment thinker killed for his ideas of truth, inlfuenced artist like Francois Gerar in the future (Powell). -
Adam Smth dies
Adam Smith died on July 27th, 1790 (Magill). This not only marked the death of Adam Smith, but I believe it marked the end of one of the best Philosophical thinkers of all time.
