Sir William Petty

Sabine Reungoat (L'Université Paris-Est Créteil)
Download PDF Add to Bookshelf Report an Error
Early Life and Education

William Petty was a physician, natural philosopher, administrator and writer on economics. A man of many talents and interests, he was a significant figure in the scientific revolution and is chiefly remembered as one of the founders of political economy and population studies. Petty attempted to apply the Baconian method based on observation and measurement to economic and social phenomena and his “political arithmetic” paved the way to the classical school of economics.

William Petty was a physician, natural philosopher, administrator and writer on economics. A man of many talents and interests, he was a significant figure in the scientific revolution and is chiefly remembered as one of the founders of political economy and population studies. Petty attempted…

1803 words

Citation: Reungoat, Sabine. "Sir William Petty". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 October 2020 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=3544, accessed 29 March 2024.]

3544 Sir William Petty 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

If you need to create a new bookshelf to save this article in, please make sure that you are logged in, then go to your 'Account' here

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.