George Whatley (died 1791) was an English lawyer, a friend and correspondent of Benjamin Franklin. He was also Vice President (1772–1779) and Treasurer (1779–1791) of the Foundling Hospital in London.[1]
Whatley was the author of Principles of Trade, published in 1774, which expounded the benefits of laissez faire economics, allied to free trade. Some sources claim Franklin co-authored the book with Whatley, while Franklin gives full credit to Whatley.[2]Jared Sparks in The Works of Benjamin Franklin 1840, credits Franklin for the notes: these are in the view of noted economist Jacob Viner, superior to the text.[3]
Whatley's portrait by an unknown painter is part of the Foundling Hospital art collection, at the Foundling Museum.[4]
Notes
^Benedict Nicolson, "The Treasures of the Foundling Hospital," Clarendon Press, 1972, p. 60.
^Jacob Viner (1930). "Early English Theories of Trade". Journal of Political Economy: 404–57, footnote 97 for chapter 2. doi:10.1086/254122. S2CID153464126.
^Nicolson, Treasures of the Foundling Hospital, p. 60.
