Palgrave, Robert Harry Inglis (1827–1919)

Abstract

Palgrave was born in London, the third of four male children of Francis Palgrave and Elizabeth Turner. He was named after Robert Harry Inglis – an Old Tory, Member of Parliament, and a friend of Palgrave’s father. Quite incidentally, this R.H. Inglis edited some works by the economist Henry Thornton. Palgrave was denied the formal education provided for his two elder brothers, instead entering the banking business of Gurney & Co. (in which his maternal grandfather had been a partner) in Great Yarmouth at the age of 16. Palgrave himself subsequently became a partner in the bank, and married in 1859 a daughter of Mr George Brightwen, who was related to the Gurney family.

This chapter was originally published in The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd edition, 2008. Edited by Steven N. Durlauf and Lawrence E. Blume.