Sowell, Thomas (1930–)

ECONOMIST, LECTURER, researcher, and author Thomas Sowell was born in Gastonia, North Carolina, during the depths of the Great Depression, but moved to Harlem, New York City, as a child and attended public schools. Sowell entered Howard University, an African American university in Washington, D.C., but after a year and a half, he transferred to Harvard University where he majored in economics. Sowell received his bachelor's degree in economics from Harvard in 1958, his master's degree in economics from Columbia University in 1959, and his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Chicago in 1968. Throughout his career, Sowell's writing demonstrates academic rigor, lucid prose, and powerful arguments. He is a libertarian in economics and a conservative on most social issues, but he has registered ...