Amasa Walker

Businessman, economist, and US representative, born in Woodstock, Connecticut, USA. Retiring from business (1840), he devoted himself to study and public service. He was president of the Boston Temperance Society (1839), founder and first secretary of the Boston Lyceum, and a founder of Oberlin College where he lectured on economics (1842–9). He was also a specialist in the monetary system and wrote widely on this topic.He attended two International Peace Congresses (England 1844, Paris 1849), and was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives (1848, 1859) and the state Senate (1849). He was secretary of the state of Massachusetts (1851–3), and he filled out a term in the US House of Representatives (1862–3), where he continued to exert influence on monetary issues. His Science and Wealth (1866) was a popular textbook in economics for many years.

Amasa Walker (1799-1875) was an American economist, born at Woodstock, Conn. In 1842-1848 he lectured on political economy at Oberlin College; in 1853-69 was examiner on political economy at Harvard; and in 1859-69 lecturer on political economy at Amherst. In 1848 he was delegate to the First International Peace Congress at Brussels, and in 1849 delegate to the Peace Congress at Paris. He was elected to several political offices, among them that of Secretary of State of Massachusetts (1851-53), and Representative in Congress (1862-63). His principal work was Science of Wealth (1866), a manual of political economy which became very popular.