Francis Davy Longe

Born in Suffolk in 1831, Francis Davy Longe built an unusually varied career. He studied at Oriel College, Oxford, trained in law at the Inner Temple, and was called to the bar in 1858. He was also known in his younger years as a first-class cricketer for Oxford University.

Longe is best remembered for writing against the dominant economic thinking of his day. In works such as A Refutation of the Wage-Fund Theory of Modern Political Economy and A Critical Examination of Mr. George's Progress & Poverty and Mr. Mill's Theory of Wages, he pushed back at accepted ideas about wages, labor, and political economy. He also wrote An Inquiry into the Law of 'Strikes', showing his long-standing interest in the practical and legal side of working life.

Alongside his writing, he served in public work connected with labor and local government, including service on a commission on child labor and later as an inspector for the Local Government Board. His books also ranged beyond economics into regional history and natural history, including Lowestoft in Olden Times and The Fiction of the Ice Age or Glacial Period. I couldn't confirm a suitable portrait image from reliable page sources, so none is included here.