Mountifort Longfield facts for kids

Samuel Mountifort Longfield (born in 1802, died in 1884) was a very smart Irish person. He was a lawyer, a judge, a mathematician, and a university teacher. He is famous for being the very first Professor of Political Economy at Trinity College Dublin.

Mountifort Longfield: Early Life and Career

Mountifort Longfield was the son of Mountifort Longfield, who was a vicar (a type of priest) in Desert Serges, County Cork. His mother was Grace, the daughter of William Lysaght.

Education at Trinity College Dublin

Mountifort went to Trinity College Dublin, which is a famous university. He was a brilliant student. In 1823, he graduated with top honors in science. By 1825, he became a fellow, which means he was a senior member of the college. He earned his Master of Arts (M.A.) degree in 1829 and his Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) degree in 1831.

A Career in Law and Teaching

In 1828, Longfield became a lawyer, but he didn't work as one for long. In 1832, Trinity College Dublin created a new job: Professor of Political Economy. Political economy is about how countries manage their money, resources, and trade. Mountifort Longfield was chosen to be the first person to hold this important job.

In 1834, he left his fellowship at the college. He then became the Regius Professor of Feudal and English Law at Trinity College. He kept this job for the rest of his life. From 1871, another lawyer, N. Ritchie, helped him with his duties.

A Judge and Public Servant

Longfield was known as a very good lawyer, especially in matters of property. In 1842, he became a Queen's Counsel, which is a special title for experienced lawyers. Later, in 1859, he became a bencher of the King's Inns, a group that oversees lawyers in Ireland.

In 1849, a new law called the Incumbered Estates Act was passed. This law helped people deal with land that had a lot of debt. Longfield was one of three people chosen to be a commissioner for this act. He worked in this role until 1858. After that, he became a judge in a special court for land matters and continued until 1867.

Mountifort Longfield was also involved in politics. He was a liberal, meaning he supported new ideas and reforms. He helped write some important laws for Ireland. In 1867, he became a member of the Irish Privy Council, a group of advisors to the government. He also worked as a commissioner for Irish national education and helped with the finances of the Church of Ireland.

Longfield was an active member of groups like the Social Science Congress and the Dublin Statistical Society. He passed away in Dublin on November 21, 1884.

Mountifort Longfield: Economist and Thinker

Mountifort Longfield's most important work in economics was his book "Lectures on Political Economy," published in 1834. In this book, he shared some very new ideas for his time.

Challenging Old Ideas

He disagreed with the "labor theory of value." This old idea said that the value of something comes only from the amount of work put into making it. Longfield thought differently. He developed a new idea about how the value of labor (work) and capital (money or resources) is determined. He believed it was based on how much extra income they could produce.

Ahead of His Time

His ideas were quite unusual for the 1800s. People didn't fully understand or appreciate them until after 1900. Some of his thoughts about capital and interest were similar to ideas that later came from the Austrian School of economics. This shows he was thinking far ahead of his time! He was one of the first to talk about ideas similar to "marginal utility theory," which is about how much satisfaction or usefulness we get from one more unit of something.

Works by Mountifort Longfield

• Four Lectures on Poor Laws, 1834.
• Three Lectures on Commerce and One on Absenteeism, 1835.
• An Elementary Treatise on Series, published by Hodges, Foster & Figgis, Dublin, 1872.

Family Life

In 1845, Mountifort Longfield married Elizabeth Penelope. She was the daughter of Andrew Armstrong.