author
Henry B. (Henry Brayton) Gardner
1863–1939
A Brown University economist and teacher, he wrote clearly about taxation, public finance, and economic history. His work blends careful scholarship with a strong interest in how institutions shape everyday civic life.
1 Audiobook
History of Taxation in Rhode Island to the Year 1790
by Henry B. (Henry Brayton) Gardner
About the author
Born in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1863, he studied at Brown University and graduated in 1884 before going on to earn a doctorate in economics from Johns Hopkins in 1890. He spent most of his career at Brown, where he taught for decades and later became the first Eastman Professor of Political Economy.
Gardner was part of the early generation of American economists who helped define the field in universities. In 1919, he served as president of the American Economic Association, a sign of the respect he had earned among his peers.
His published work includes History of Taxation in Rhode Island to the Year 1790 and other writings on economics and public finance. Readers coming to his books today will find a measured, historical approach that aims to explain how government, money, and policy developed over time.