Born in Kirkcaldy, Scotland in June of 1723 to Adam Smith and Margaret Douglas, Adam Smith did not have an auspicious start to his life. At the age of four, he was kidnapped by gypsies, eventually being abandoned during the chase. At the age of 14, after receiving his elementary education in Kirkcaldy, Smith began attending University of Glasgow. During this time, Smith was immersed socially and academically in the Scottish Enlightenment. After graduating in three years, Smith received a scholarship to study at Balliol College. In contrast to the hub of intellectual thought that was Glasgow, Balliol had few people for him to learn from or with. During this time, Smith furthered his studies in philosophy independently. Three years later, Smith returned to Kirkcaldy and began a lecture series on philosophy. This gained him enough acclaim to be given a position at University of Glasgow as a professor of logic. He was eventually promoted to professor of moral philosophy, and later chair of faculty. During his time at Glasgow, Smith lectured daily to students in their mid teens, a common age for college students at the time. The Theory of Moral Sentiments, Smith’s first major work, was written as a summary of these lectures. In it, he describes the psychological theory that plays a key role in his future work in economics. That is not to say that The Theory of Moral Sentiments was not influential in its own right. It focuses on the balance that people strike between self interest and concern for others. He paints a picture of humans as apathetic and self concerned, but unwilling to harm others directly. Most well known is his idea of the “impartial spectator” that should be inside of every person to analyze the morality of their actions. The ideas in this book gained Smith acclaim. Enough so that Charles Townshend, chief proponent of the controversial Townshend acts, sought him out as a tutor for his stepson, the duke of Buccleuch. In 1764, Townshend succeeded in luring Smith away from Glasgow by way of a much higher compensation. During his tutelage of the duke, Smith was able to travel to Paris. Throughout his years, Smith’s social circle consisted of those influential in government, society, and academia, including his close friend David Hume. In Paris, he extended this group to include French philosopher Voltaire and physiocrat Francois Quesnay. The latter, along with the other physiocrats, who strongly opposed government regulation, likely had an influence on Smith’s economic theory. After returning from France, the Royal Society elected Smith as a fellow. Also around this point in time, he began to write what would be his most famous work, The Wealth of Nations. In 1767, Smith retired to Kirkcaldy and spent the next years completing the book. Published in 1776, The Wealth of Nations is considered to be one of history’s most influential economic works. In his later years, Smith served as the Commissioner of Customs, primarily working to prevent smuggling. Interestingly, this is opposed to the position that he took in The Wealth of Nations that laws preventing smuggling are illegitimate. Smith died in Edinburgh, Scotland on the 17th of July, .1790 at the age of 67, after making such great contributions to his field that he is considered by many to be the father of economics.