Malthus, Thomas Robert (1766–1834)

Abstract

Thomas Robert Malthus is unquestionably the most influential writer in history on the topic of population. This was generally unintentional on his part because he was trained in Jesus College at Cambridge University in England with the early ambition of becoming a clergyman, and he was ordained into the Church of England. After graduation from Cambridge he divided his time between his duties as curate in a small parish church in Albury, south of London near his family's home, and Cambridge, where he had been elected a fellow, and it was during this period that he wrote the first edition of the book that has immortalized him: Essay on the Principle of Population as it affects the future improvement of society; With remarks on the speculations of Mr. Godwin, M. Condorcet, and other writers . Malthus (who went by Robert, which is why his first and middle names are usually provided) was by nature a shy man and he had a perceptible speech impediment (which limited the scope of his ambitions in the Church of England), and he published the book anonymously in 1798. However, the book's success forced him to acknowledge authorship, and he subsequently revised and expanded the book through several published editions.