Adam Smith

Student, scholar, and rector at the University of Glasgow.

Join us in learning about his life, ideas, and relevance to the 21st century.

Explore and learn

Detail of a painting called 'Trongate, Glasgow, Looking West from Glasgow Cross' circa 1770-80 by an unknown artist. In the collection of Glasgow Life Museums and reproduced under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (CC BY-NC-ND).https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/trongate-glasgow-looking-west-from-glasgow-cross-after-the-foulis-academy-85999

Life and times of Adam Smith

Adam Smith's life and the context in which he worked were under the spotlight in the Adam Smith tercentenary, with discussions offering new insights and reflections.

A label with the text ' ADAM SMITH' pasted into the blue and red marbled inside cover of a book

Adam Smith's ideas

 Adam Smith's ideas were at the core of the tercentenary with events and activities to help people understand more deeply the concepts he developed.

Adam Smith's statue with only his head. Source: Adam Smith business school

Adam Smith in the 21st century

What impact does Adam Smith's writing and ideas have on economics, politics and society today. And can we still use his concepts to tackle 21st century problems? 

Logo of Adam Smith 300 with a graphic outline of his face, surrounded by the words 'Adam Smith, 1723, 2023, 300 year anniversary' Life, work and legacy

Life, work and legacy

About Adam Smith's life and his time at Glasgow University. Explore his influential works and learn about his legacy.

A graphic portrait of Adam Smith and a quote from him saying 'Every man is rich or poor according to the degree in which he can afford to enjoy the necessaries, conveniences s and amusements of human life.' The Wealth of Nations

The Wealth of Nations

What did Adam Smith say in his most famous book? Learn more about The Wealth of Nations and his other important writings.

Sunset view of Glasgow with the river Clyde and the squinty bridge Source: Shutterstock

Smith and Glasgow today

The University of Glasgow is a major centre for the study of Adam Smith and the Scottish Enlightenment, and holds many significant artefacts connected with Smith.

Dr Glory Liu, Lecturer on Social Studies at Harvard University speaking about Adam Smith. The speech captions read 'this year to celebrate not just he publication' She is standing next to a portrait of Adam Smith and a sign saying 'Adam Smith: Collections' 300 years of Adam Smith

300 years of Adam Smith

On the tercentenary of Adam Smith's birth, the University of Glasgow helped people around the world explore his thinking and his legacy.

Promoting an informed understanding of Smith and his approach to morality and markets is at the heart of Adam Smith 300.

We inspired an on-going discussion about Adam Smith, his world-changing ideas and their relevance to the problems of the 21st century.

the text Adam Smith Business School on a background of tartan cloth with blue, green, white and red

Interested in economics, business and society?

The Adam Smith Business School develops enlightened, engaged and enterprising graduates, who are internationally recognised and make a positive impact on culture and society.

A photo of buildings at Glasgow University and the text 'School of Social & Political Sciences'

Address the key social and political challenges of our time.

The School of Social and Political Sciences brings together research, innovation and education in economic and social history, Central and Eastern European studies, politics, international relations, sociology and urban studies.

University of Glasgow Cloister with the College of Social Sciences text below

Shaping Futures: Exploring Social Transformation

The College comprises five academic schools that address significant social and economic challenges and injustices and help shape changes in behaviours and social structures.