Senior, Nassau William

(1790-1864)

   Economist and essayist, s. of a clergyman, was b. at Compton Beauchamp, Berks, ed. at Eton and Oxf., studied law, and was called to the Bar in 1819. He twice held the Professorship of Political Economy at Oxf., 1825-30 and 1847-52, rendered important service as a member of the Poor Law Commission of 1833, and wrote its Report. S. holds a high position among English economists, and made many contributions to the literature of the science, including Outline of the Science of Political Economy (1836). He was, moreover, a writer of considerable versatility, his works in general literature including Essays on Fiction (1864), Historical and Philosophical Essays (1865), and specially his notes of conversations with many eminent persons, chiefly political, e.g., De Tocqueville, Thiers, and Guizot, which combine fulness of information with discretion; he also pub. journals of his travels in Turkey, Greece, Egypt, etc.