The Book, Cat, & Cat Book Lovers Almanac

of historical trivia regarding books, cats, and other animals. Actually this blog has evolved so that it is described better as a blog about cats in history and culture. And we take as a theme the advice of Aldous Huxley: If you want to be a writer, get some cats. Don't forget to see the archived articles linked at the bottom of the page.

April 8, 2015

April 8, 1904

We learn of John Hicks from the Nobel website :

John R. Hicks
Born: 8 April 1904, Warwick, United Kingdom
Died: 20 May 1989, Blockley, United Kingdom
Affiliation at the time of the award: All Souls College, Oxford, United Kingdom
Prize motivation: "for their pioneering contributions to general economic equilibrium theory and welfare theory"
Field: general equilibrium theory, welfare theory
Contribution: Made fundamental contributions to the renewal of the general equilibrium theory. Work with welfare theory. Introduced new welfare concepts in microeconomics.
Prize share: 1/2


We learn of John and Ursula Hicks's cat from 
Colin Simkin's article about Hicks in 

John Hicks: His Contributions to Economic Theory and  Application (2001), edited by 
 Karigirappa Puttaswamaiah, and Paul Anthony Samuelson

Simkin's article sketches the midcentury life of the economist. There we learn that in term the Hicks's lived in a flat in Oxford, but otherwise were housed in a luxurious home in the Cotswold village of Blockley. It was purchased  by Ursula from John's sister, and they rented out part of it. The home was a "fairly large historic building," once the residence of the Bishops of Gloucester. "There they spent weekends and vacations with their constant companion Sammy, a very appealing cat."
The Nobel Prize for Economics was awarded to John Hicks in 1972.

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