Adam Smith

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Adam Smith (baptised 16 June 1723 – 17 July 1790 [OS: 5 June 1723 – 17 July 1790]) was a Scottish moral philosopher and a pioneer of political economy. One of the key figures of the Scottish Enlightenment, Smith is the author of The Theory of Moral Sentiments and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. The latter, usually abbreviated as The Wealth of Nations, is considered his magnum opus and the first modern work of economics. Adam Smith is widely cited as the father of modern economics.

Smith studied moral philosophy at the University of Glasgow and Oxford University. After graduating he delivered a successful series of public lectures at Edinburgh, leading him to collaborate with David Hume during the Scottish Enlightenment. Smith obtained a professorship at Glasgow teaching moral philosophy, and during this time wrote and published The Theory of Moral Sentiments. In his later life he took a tutoring position which allowed him to travel throughout Europe where he met other intellectual leaders of his day. Smith returned home and spent the next ten years writing The Wealth of Nations (mainly from his lecture notes) which was published in 1776. He died in 1790.

Early life

Adam Smith was born to Margaret Douglas at Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland. His father, also named Adam Smith, was a lawyer, civil servant, and widower who married Margaret Douglas in 1720 and died six months before Smith was born. Although the exact date of Smith's birth is unknown, his baptism was recorded on 16 June 1723 at Kirkcaldy. Though few events in Smith's early childhood are known, Scottish journalist and biographer of Smith John Rae recorded that Smith was abducted by gypsies at the age of four and eventually released when others went to rescue him.[note 1] Smith was particularly close to his mother, who likely encouraged him to pursue his scholarly ambitions.[6] He attended the Burgh School of Kirkcaldy – characterised by Rae as "one of the best secondary schools of Scotland at that period" – from 1729 to 1737. Ther

Formal education
A plaque of Adam Smith
A commemorative plaque for Adam Smith is located at Smith's home town of Kirkcaldy.

Smith entered the University of Glasgow when he was fourteen and studied moral philosophy under Francis Hutcheson. Here he developed his passion for liberty, reason, and free speech. In 1740, Smith was awarded the Snell exhibition and left the University of Glasgow to attend Balliol College, Oxford.

Smith considered the teaching at Glasgow to be far superior to that at Oxford, and found his experience at the latter to be intellectually stifling. In Book V, Chapter II of The Wealth of Nations, Smith wrote: "In the University of Oxford, the greater part of the public professors have, for these many years, given up altogether even the pretence of teaching." Smith is also reported to have complained to friends that Oxford officials once detected him reading a copy of David Hume's Treatise on Human Nature, and they subsequently confiscated his book and punished him severely for reading it According to William Robert Scott, "The Oxford of [Smith's] time gave little if any help towards what was to be his lifework." Nevertheless, Smith took the opportunity while at Oxford to teach himself several subjects by reading many books from the shelves of the large Oxford library. When Smith was not studying on his own, his time at Oxford was not a happy one, according to his letters. Near the end of his time at Oxford, Smith began suffering from shaking fits, probably the symptoms of a nervous breakdown. He left Oxford University in 1746, before his scholarship ended.

In Book V of The Wealth of Nations, Smith comments on the low quality of instruction and the meager intellectual activity at English universities, when compared to their Scottish counterparts. He attributes this both to the rich endowments of the colleges at Oxford and Cambridge, which made the income of professors independent of their ability to attract students, and to the fact that distinguished men of letters could make an even more comfortable living as ministers of the Church of England. Smith had originally intended to study theology and enter the clergy, but his subsequent learning, especially from the skeptical writings of David Hume, persuaded him to take a different route

source :http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Smith

James Dean

James Dean

James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931 - September 30, 1955) was an American film actor. Epitomizing youthful angst and charisma, Dean's screen persona is probably best embodied in the title of his most representative work, Rebel without a Cause.

Born on a Marion, Indiana family farm to Winton and Mildred Wilson Dean. The family moved to Santa Monica, California six years later after Winton left farming to become a dental technician. While there, Dean was enrolled in Brentwood Public School until his mother died of cancer in 1940. James Dean

Then, at age nine, Dean's father sent him back to live with relatives on a farm near Fairmount, Indiana where he was raised with a Quaker upbringing. In high school, Dean played on the school basketball team and participated in forensics debate and drama. After graduating from Fairmont High School in 1949, Dean moved back to California to live with his father and stepmother.

While there, he enrolled in Santa Monica City College, pledged Sigma Nu fraternity and majored in pre-law. After struggling with law, against his father's wishes, Dean changed his major to drama. The resulting parental fight left Dean once again being turned out of his father's house.

Dean began his career with a soft drink commercial followed by a bit part in the television series, Hill Number One. He quit college to focus on his budding career, but he struggled to get jobs in Hollywood and only succeeded in paying bills by working as a parking lot attendant.

Following the advice of friends, Dean moved to New York to pursue a career in live stage acting. While there he was accepted to study under Lee Strasberg in the storied Actors Studio. His career turned around and Dean did several episodes of such early-1950s episodic television progams such as Kraft Television Theater, Danger, and General Electric Theater. His rave reviews in André Gide's The Immoralist led to his being called back to Hollywood and film stardom. During his New York period he spent time in Sayville and the resort towns of Fire Island.

He appeared in several uncredited bit roles in such forgettable films as Sailor Beware, but finally gained recognition and success in 1955 in his first starring role, that of Cal Trask in East of Eden, for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role. He followed this up in rapid succession with two more starring roles, in Rebel Without a Cause, and in the 1956 release Giant, for which he was also nominated for an Academy Award.

Dean died in a road accident in a Porsche 550 Spyder when a car driven by Donald Turnupseed veered into Dean's lane. This occurred before the release of Giant. He is buried in Park Cemetery in his home town of Fairmount. He is one of only five people to be nominated for Best Actor for his first feature role, and the only person to be nominated twice after his death.

Dean epitomized the rebellion of 1950s teens, especially in his role in Rebel Without a Cause. Many teenagers of the time modeled themselves after him, and his death cast a pall on many members of his generation. His very brief career, lifestyle, bisexuality, violent death and highly publicized funeral transformed James Dean into a cult object and pop icon of apparently timeless fascination.

Jack Nicholson

Jack Nicholson

Jack Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is a highly successful American method actor. He is best known for portraying antagonistic, cynical, neurotic and aggressive characters. He received Kennedy Center Honors in 2001, and has been nominated for an Academy Award a dozen times, winning three of them. He has also won seven Golden Globe Awards.

He was born John Joseph Nicholson in New York, New York, although until 1974 he had thought his place of birth was his hometown, Neptune, New Jersey. A journalist's research uncovered what apparently had happened: the woman he had always thought of as his mother was actually his grandmother, who had arranged to raise him as her own child. She did this because he was actually the illegitimate offspring of her daughter, a woman whom Nicholson thought was his older sister. Because of this fact Nicholson is pro-life and has spoken out about it saying, "I'm very contra my constituency in terms of abortion because I'm positively against it. I don't have the right to any other view. My only emotion is gratitude, literally, for my life."

Nicholson started his career as an actor, writer, and producer, working for and with Roger Corman. This included his screen debut in The Cry Baby Killer (1958), where he played a juvenile delinquent who panics after shooting two other teenagers, and Little Shop of Horrors.

His work with Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper on the LSD-fueled The Trip led to his real break. That film led to a small supporting role in Easy Rider (1969), for which he received his first Oscar nomination. A Best Actor nomination came the following year for his persona-defining role in Five Easy Pieces (1970), which includes his famous chicken salad dialogue about getting what you want.

Other early movies he is known for include Roman Polanski's Chinatown (1974), Milos Forman's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), for which he received his first Oscar, and Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. Nicholson won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Terms of Endearment (1984).

The 1989 Batman, where Nicholson played the supervillain The Joker, was an international smash hit, and a lucrative percentage deal earned Nicholson about US$50 million. For his role as Col. Nathan R. Jessep in A Few Good Men (1992), a dark movie about a murder in a military unit, he received yet another nomination by the Academy. He would win his next Oscar for his role as the neurotic lead in the romance As Good as it Gets (1997).

The 9/11 terrorist attacks led Nicholson to focus on comedies. In About Schmidt (2002), Nicholson portrayed a man who questions his own life after his retirement and the death of his wife. The deeply emotional, slow film stands in sharp contrast to many of his previous roles. In the comedy Anger Management, he plays an aggressive therapist alongside Adam Sandler. His most recent film is the 2003 Something's Gotta Give.

Brad Pitt

Brad Pitt

William Bradley Pitt, widely known as Brad Pitt (born December 18, 1963), is an American film actor.

He was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma and raised in Springfield, Missouri. In high school Pitt was involved in sports, debating, student government and school musicals. He dropped out of the University of Missouri School of Journalism. He was two credits shy of graduating with a Journalism degree, before trying his luck in Hollywood. Before he became successful at acting, Pitt supported himself by driving strippers in limos, moving refrigerators and dressing as a giant chicken while working for the restaurant chain El Pollo Loco.

He married actress Jennifer Aniston on July 29, 2000.

He was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the 1995 film Twelve Monkeys.

Pitt is often referenced to as one of the most attractive people in the world—or at least in the film business—and it is commonly recognised to refer to him in this context.

Selected filmography

Johnny Suede (1991)
Thelma & Louise (1991)
Cool World (1992)
A River Runs Through It (1992)
Kalifornia (1993)
Interview with the Vampire (1994)
Legends Of The Fall (1994)
Se7en (1995)
Twelve Monkeys (1995)
Sleepers (1996)
The Devil's Own (1997)
Seven Years in Tibet (1997)
Meet Joe Black (1998)
Fight Club (1999)
Snatch (2000)
The Mexican (2001)
Friends (2001 episode as Monica's friend)
Spy Game (2001)
Ocean's Eleven (2001)
Troy (2004)
Mr. and Mrs. Smith (2004)
Ocean's Twelve (2004)

Trivia

Like many A-List stars, Pitt won't do American commercials, but does commercials that are seen in Asia only, most notably for Edwin Jeans, the Toyota Altis, and Japanese canned coffee, ROOTS.

He was previously engaged to actress Gwyneth Paltrow, and dated actress Juliette Lewis.

He tore his Achilles tendon during the production of Troy, in which he plays, coincidentally, Achilles.

He sued Damiani International, the company which made the wedding ring he gave Jennifer Aniston, for selling replica "Brad and Jennifer" rings. According to Pitt, the ring was his design and was to be exclusive. Under the settlement reached in January 2002, Pitt will design jewelry for Damiani that Aniston will model in ads, and the company will stop selling the copies.

Famous Actors-

Famous Actors - Listed below are your favourite famous actors, past and present, with links to each persons biography. Biographical information includes, date of birth, profiles, personal history and other facts about them and their achievements.

Adam Sandler Biography

Adam Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, producer, musician and composer who was born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in Manchester, New Hampshire.

In the late 1980s, Sandler portrayed "Smitty" on The Cosby Show (1985-1989). He also was a writer for the MTV game show Remote Control, on which he made several featured appearances.

Sandler started performing in comedy clubs by spontaneously taking the stage at a club in Boston. He was then discovered by comedian Dennis Miller, who caught Sandler's act in Los Angeles. Miller immediately recommended Sandler to Saturday Night Live producer, Lorne Michaels. Sandler was hired as a writer for Saturday Night Live in 1990 and became a featured player the following year. Sandler quickly made a name for himself by performing amusing original songs on the show, including The Chanukah Song.

Sandler graduated from New York University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1991. On Sunday, June 22, 2003, he wed model Jackie Titone, whom he met on the set of Big Daddy. Sandler and Jackie Titone later worked together again in the Rob Schneider comedy Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, which Sandler executive-produced.

Selected Filmography

The Cosby Show (1985-1989)
Going Overboard (1989)
SNL (1990)
Shakes The Clown (1991)
Coneheads (1993)
Airheads (1994)
Billy Madison (1995), also written by Sandler
Happy Gilmore (1996), also written by Sandler
Bulletproof (1997)
Dirty Work (1998)
The Waterboy (1998), also written and produced by Sandler
The Wedding Singer, (1998)
Big Daddy, (1999), also screenplay written by and produced by Sandler
Little Nicky, (2000), also written and produced by Sandler
Mr. Deeds, (2002) also produced by Sandler, a remake of the Frank Capra film. Described by The Guardian critic Peter Bradshaw as "like watching a chimp trying to fashion a scale model of Michelangelo's David out of its own steaming ordure."
Punch-Drunk Love, (2002)
8 Crazy Nights, (2002), also written and produced by Sandler
Anger Management, (2003)
50 First Dates, (2004), also produced by Sandler
The Longest Yard, (2005)
Click, (2005)

Jeremy Clarkson

Jeremy Clarkson Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born April 11, 1960) is a British motoring journalist and television presenter. He is known for his physically imposing presence, and ebulliently robust manner. The television show he is most associated with is called Top Gear. This is a show which puts all cars, present, past and future through their paces. He has an image of not pulling any punches, but acknowledging up-front any and all biases the reporters have. He also "starred" in a series called (humbly) Jeremy Clarkson's Extreme Machines where he rode all manner of machines, including a plane, a submarine and an airboat. In 2002 Clarkson championed Isambard Kingdom Brunel in the BBC's search to find the 100 Greatest Britons. Clarkson, being one of the passengers on the last BA Concorde flight on October 24, 2003, played around Neil Armstrong's famous saying: This is one small step for a man, but one huge leap backwards for mankind. Lives in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire Recently (April 2004) Clarkson appeared on the British TV talkshow "Parkinson" and mentioned that he was writing a book about the 'soul' many machines have. Cited Concorde as his primary example; when people heard it had crashed, quite aside from the sadness they felt for the loss of human life, there was also almost a sadness for the machine. He also recently punched Piers Morgan, former editor of The Daily Mirror, a UK newspaper for printing some unflattering photographs of him. This was generally considered fairly out of character.

Terry Wogan

Terry Wogan

Michael Terence (Terry) Wogan, (born August 3, 1938) is a popular radio and television broadcaster on the BBC in the United Kingdom. He was born in Limerick, Ireland and educated by the Salesians and the Jesuits at Crescent College. He is married and has 3 children.

Due to the demographics of his typical listenership he refers to most of them as 'TOGs (Terry's Old Geezers) – this has led to him becoming known as 'The Togmeister'.

Career

Early radio presenting

After completing his education he went to work in a bank for five years, before he joined Radio Telifís Éireann as a newsreader/announcer. For two years he did interviews and presenting documentary features before moving to the Light Entertainment department as a disc jockey and host of TV quiz and variety shows. He first worked for BBC Radio presenting Midday Spin in the mid-1960s and, on the inauguration of BBC Radio 1 he presented Late Night Extra for two years, commuting weekly from Dublin to London. In April 1972 he took over the breakfast show on BBC Radio 2, where he has remained most of the time ever since, amassing an audience of up to 7.6 million. During this period he released his own version of "The Floral Dance", by popular request from listeners who enjoyed hearing him singing over the instrumental hit by The Brighouse & Rastrick Brass Band.

Moving to television

Wogan is particularly famed for his sardonic commentaries on the Eurovision Song Contest which he has done annually since 1980, although he occasionally did it in the 1970s. Also in 1980 he began presenting the BBC's Children in Need telethon and continues to front the yearly event.

Between 1985 and 1992 he hosted the Wogan television chat show thrice-weekly. Highlights of the show included interviews with a drunk George Best; David Icke claiming to be the "son of the Godhead"; and Vivienne Westwood scolding the audience for laughing at her latest collection (although Sue Lawley was guest hosting the show on this last occasion).

Other television programmes he has presented:

Come Dancing (ballroom dance show)
Blankety Blank (game show)
Auntie's Bloomers (outtakes show)
Wogan's Web
The Terry and Gaby Show (with Gaby Roslin)

Return to radio

By 1992, something of a backlash began against the seemingly omni-present Wogan. He was released from his talk-show contract after much pushing by the BBC. He was mocked for some time after this. However, in recent years his fortunes have improved. His BBC Radio 2 breakfast show is now one of the most popular on British radio. His tendency to go off on rambling, esoteric tangents seems to have become popular with younger listeners (however ironically) as well as the older fans.

Honours

In 1997 he was created an honourary OBE; as he is not a British subject he could not be made a full OBE. He received an honorary doctorate in 2004 from the University of Limerick.


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