Ricardo, David

re-kar'do, David (1772-1823), a celebrated political economist. He was a native of London. He belonged to an honorable family of Jewish bankers and received a commercial education. He alienated his parents by joining the Church of England and marrying a Protestant. His character and knowledge of the banking business, enabled him to amass a moderate fortune by the time he reached the age of twenty-five. He then abandoned the business and betook himself to the study of political and financial questions. He studied the works of Adam Smith and made the acquaintance of James Mill, the father of John Stuart Mill. He was a member of a circle of thinkers and writers who studied social and political questions. He contributed to the periodicals of the day, and wrote also a number of works of a serious nature. He is best known by his chief work, The Principles of Political Economy and Taxation, which appeared in 1817. At the present time the name of Ricardo is still prominent in the history of political economy. In 1819 he entered Parliament, in which body he became a distinguished advocate of free trade. His fundamental doctrine is the theory that selling price is determined ultimately by the cost of production.