James Mavor

James Mavor (December 8, 1854, Stranraer, Scotland — October 31, 1925, Glasgow, Scotland) was a major Canadian economist of late 19 — early 20 century. He served as a Professor of Political Economy of Toronto University from 1892 to 1923. His influence upon Canadian economical thought is traced to as late as 1970s. He played a key role in resettling Doukhobor religious dissidents from the Russian Empire to Canada. He was also a noted arts promoter.

Biography

James Mavor was born to a Free Church of Scotland minister and teacher James Mavor, and Mary Ann Taylor Birdie. He studied in Glasgow University. After that he taught for some time in a Glasgow college and read special courses in Glasgow University and Edinburgh University. He was also an editor for Scottish Art Review.

In 1892, upon the recommendation of Toronto University Professor William Ashley who was leaving for Harvard University, he took Ashley's chair of Political Economy and Constitutional History, moving to Toronto with his family (including daughter Dora who would later become a major figure in Canada's theater). After 1892, he spent most of his life in Toronto, leaving only for short trips.

At the start, he caused turmoil when he stated Canada could not serve as the only source of wheat for the British Empire as general ideology of the Empire observed it. To avoid further misunderstanding, he took economy of Russia as his major scientific specialization. As a professor he also researched economies of Canada, China, Korea, and Japan.

In 1898—1899 he became a key figure in the Doukhobor immigration to Canada. His correspondent at the time was notable Russian scientist and major Anarchist ideologist Kropotkin, at that time living in the UK, who proposed that Doukhobor peasantry, numbered several thousand people, be settled in Canada. Through several years that followed, he took keen participation in Doukhobor cause, siding with them in case of conflicts with Canadian authorities.

James Mavor as an arts activist helped organize several Canadian art venues, as Art Gallery of Ontario and Royal Ontario Museum.

He published articles and stats for Canadian government regarding immigration, wheat production, workers' healthcare compensation. In 1914, he published the 1st edition of his "opus magnus", An Economic History of Russia, in 2 volumes. This publication earned him membership in the Royal Society of Canada.

After over 30 years of teaching economy, he became professor emeritus and retired in 1923. [ [http://www.library.utoronto.ca/fisher/collections/canadiana.html Canadiana — Отдел Рукописей Университета Торонто] ] After he left, Toronto University for some time discontinued the tradition of extensive Russian studies he and William Ashley founded. [ [http://www.newsandevents.utoronto.ca/bios/02/history47.htm What helped launch Slavic studies as a growth discipline at the University of Toronto?] at Toronto University web site] .

He died at the age of 71 in Glasgow, Scotland, during a trip to relatives.

Bibliography

* An Economic History of Russia (London 1914; in 2 Volumes). Russell & Russell, 1914, reissued 1925, 1965. [http://books.google.com/books?id=JVRBAAAAIAAJ this book at в google]
* My Windows on the Street of the World (London, 1923; Autobiography). 2 volumes, Toronto and London: J. M. Dent & Sons, New York: E. P. Dutton, 1923. Includes chapters about William Morris, Leo Tolstoy, Peter Kropotkin, Peter Verigin. [http://books.google.com/books?id=jGJJAAAAMAAJ this book at google]
* Niagara in Politics: A Critical Account of the Ontario Hydroelectric Commission (New York, 1925). E. P. Dutton & Company, 1925. 255 pages.
* The Russian Revolution. George Allen & Unwin, 1928. 470 pages.

* Applied Economics a Practical Exposition of the Science of Business. Original issued in series: Modern business. Canadian edition; v. 1. Alexander Hamilton Institute 1914 ISBN 0665771770
* Hand-book of Canada. Publication Committee of the Local Executive of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1980. (Canada Description and travel 1868—1900) ISBN 0665028334
* Government Telephones: The Experience of Manitoba, Canada. Moffat, Yard & Co., 1916. 176 страниц.

Links

Sources

* Dictionary of Canadian Biography: Volume XV, 1921—1930. Ed. by Réal Bélanger, Ramsay Cook. University of Toronto Press, Canada, 2005. 1266 pages. ISBN 0802090877 ( [http://books.google.com/books?id=WG8pspLIukMC&pg=PA723 this book at books.google.com] ) — Стр. 723—725

In popular culture

* In honor of James Mavor, George Bernard Shaw named one of the main characters of his play Candida (1898), "Rev. James Mavor Morell".

References