Full Name: Lord John Maynard Keynes
Date of Birth: June 5, 1883
Place of Birth: Cambridge, England
Died: April 21, 1946
Place of Death: London, England
Classification: Scientists & Thinkers
Known in England and throughout the world as one of the greatest economists of all time, John Maynard Keynes changed the way many capitialistic countries handled spending. Through the great depression, Keynes was able to lead the way to a new type of thinking, which eventually became macroeconomics, where he believed there were great differences in how economies should save and invest.
John’s father was an economist at Cambridge University and his mother was a successful author. His brother also saw success when he became a surgeon and a bibliophile. He also had one sister who did very well for herself. With an elitist education behind him, he formulated some of the newest economic ideas of his time; therefore, his success was imminent. Throughout his life, he supported the arts, including personally looking after painter Duncan Grant, with whom he had a relationship until his marriage with Lydia Lopokova, a famous Russian ballerina.
With the outbreak of World War I, he was taken from his post as lecturer at Cambridge to put his skills in use abroad. He was appointed to the Royal Commission on Indian Currency and Finance, where he solved several problems in a straightforward practical manner that won him even more esteem.
During and after the war, he worked with the British Finance Department and represented England at the Versaille Peace Conference. His book entitled The General Theory of Employment, Interest, & Money laid the foundation for macroeconomics and pushed for the internal betterment of society when employment was high. He advocated public works, government-funded jobs, and that war should be paid for with taxes and not cause a country to go into debt – which would eventually cause widespread inflation.
John Maynard Keynes was aslo a genius investor. He stuck to his own rules, holding out even through hard times, and was able to keep many institutions afloat due to his longterm foresight. In the autobiography of John Maynard Keynes entitled Two Memoirs, he pushed companies, governments, and even individuals to invest their money and not save it. Savings do not drive the economy, but investing will improve an economy’s overall health. His techniques for investment and his theories of spending and finance have been adopted worldwide and have influenced agencies even as prominent as the World Bank.
