Samuelson, Paul Anthony

Samuelson, Paul Anthony (1915- ), American economist, born in Gary, Indiana, and educated at the University of Chicago and Harvard University. In 1940 he joined the economics faculty of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; in 1966 he was named institute professor, the highest professional rank at the institution.

Samuelson at various times served as a columnist for Newsweek magazine, consultant to such research organizations as the Rand Corporation and to the Federal Reserve Board, and adviser to Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. A popular lecturer, Samuelson was also the author of a best-selling economics textbook. Originally published in 1948, Economics: An Introductory Analysis has been translated into more than a dozen languages and has sold more than 4 million copies.