William D. Wilson
William Dexter Wilson (1816-1900) was born in Stoddard, New Hampshire, in 1816. Later, in 1835, he would attend Harvard Divinity School, and would graduate in 1838. Upon finishing his studies, Wilson would become a Unitarian preacher for three years before joining the Episcopal Church. Then, in 1850, Wilson would become a professor at Geneva College, remaining there until 1868. Then in 1868, he would be made Professor of Moral and Intellectual Philosophy at Cornell University. This was done at the request of the institution’s cofounder, Andrew D. White. It was in this capacity, that Wilson first began to teach political economy. Wilson would produce his main treatise on political economy in 1875. This work was entitled First Principles of Political Economy.
In addition to his own work, Wilson also recommended that his students read Henry Carey’s Past, Present, and Future and his Principles of Social Science, List’s National Systems, Bowen’s American Political Economy, Peshine Smith’s Manual of Political Economy, and Elder’s Questions of the Day, as well as several Classical texts.
While teaching at Cornell, Wilson would also serve as the registrar of the University, as well as the editor of the Cornell’s annual Register. Upon retiring in 1886, Wilson would be made an Emeritus Professor at Cornell. After his retirement, Wilson would be appointed as head of Saint Andrew’s Divinity School in Syracuse. Wilson would continue to write on scholarly topics late into his life, with his last major work being a philosophical treatise entitled Theories of Knowledge Historically Considered with Special Reference to Scepticism and Belief which appeared in 1889. In the following year, on July 30, 1900, Wilson would pass away in his Son’s home in Syracuse, New York.