Adam Smith was born in Kirkcaldy, Scotland, in 1723. He studied at the Universities of Glasgow and Oxford. In 1751 he became a professor at the University of Glasgow, where he lectured on theology, ethics, and politics. He established his reputation with the publication of Theory of Moral Sentiments in 1759. In 1763 he became tutor to the Duke of Buccleuch. Two years later, he traveled to France, where he became acquainted with leading French political economists. In 1767 he returned to Kirkcaldy, where he spent his time studying and developing his ideas. In 1766 he published An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, the first major work of political economics. This book examined the function of markets, the international implications of a laissez-faire economy, and the consequences of economic freedom. Smith became commissioner of customs in Glasgow in 1778 and was appointed lord rector of the University of Glasgow in 1787.
