collection 1583 - Donald E. Moggridge fonds

Donald E. Moggridge was born in 1943 and grew up in Windsor Ontario. From 1961 to 1965, he was a student in the Department of Political Economy at the University of Toronto where he studied economic history under Karl Helleiner, John Dales, Tom Easterbrook and Ian Drummond. He graduated with his Honours B.A. in 1965 and subsequently went onto to do graduate work at the University of Cambridge where he obtained his M.A. in 1968 and his Ph.D. in 1970. While at Cambridge, he was mentored by well known economists Joan Robinson, Richard Kahn, who was his thesis advisor, and Austin Robinson.

It was also at Cambridge that he was first introduced to the papers of John Maynard Keynes which would influence his research interests throughout his entire career. In 1969, Prof. Moggridge began working with an established editorial team from the Royal Economic Society on The Collected Writings of John Maynard Keynes. What began as a job for a finishing Ph.D. student became a 20-year endeavour, and, in the end, Moggridge was responsible for editing 24 of the 30 volume set. His interest in Keynes resulted in two books on the famous economist: a small version Keynes which saw three editions and was translated into several languages and Maynard Keynes: An Economist’s Biography a large version that is considered the definitive account of Keynes’s work as an economist. He has published countless papers and chapters in books not only on Keynes but on other areas in economic history and the history of economic thought. Along with Susan Howson, he edited the diaries of James Meade and Lionel Robbins. He also wrote a biography on Canadian economist Harry Johnson – Harry Johnson: A Life in Economics (2008).

In 1974, Prof. Ian Drummond enticed Prof. Moggridge back the University of Toronto with a full professorship. His early years were spent teaching undergraduate courses at Scarborough College and graduate courses on the St. George campus. Over the years, Prof. Moggridge taught courses in such subject areas as North American and British economic history, 20th century economic history, the history of economic thought, and the economics J.M. Keynes. He supervised 11 Ph.D. theses.

Throughout his career at the University of Toronto, Professor Moggridge also held various administrative roles including assistant Chair for Economics at Scarborough (1977-79, 1985-85), member, treasurer and chair for the Conference on Editorial Problems (1981-1991), Acting Associate Dean, Social Sciences for the School of Graduate Studies (1994-1997) as well as Vice Dean of SGS (1997-2000) and member of the Board of Trustees, Trinity College (1998-2004). He has worked on numerous review and planning committees throughout the University.

Moreover, he has been an active member of the several professional associations including the Economic History Association, Economic History Society and the Canadian Economics Association. He has been most involved with the History of Economic Society (HES) including serving a term as president 1987-1989. In 2008, he was honoured as a distinguished fellow by HES.

Today, Professor Moggridge is still a professor in the Department of Economics and is a Fellow of Trinity College.