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Litman, Simon

Years in the Department:

1908-1941

Research Interest: 

International Trade, Economic Resources, Economic History, Tariffs and Customs, Labor, Socialism

Biosketch:

Simon Litman came to the University of Illinois as Associate Professor in 1908, one of seven faculty in the school of commerce. He completed his doctorate at the University of Zurich in 1901. Soon after his arrival at Illinois, he would forge a close alliance with David Kinley, the two sharing a common vision for the developing programs in Commerce and Economics.

In 1919, Simon Litman would attain full professorship, and for 34 years, would be known as a foremost authority in International Trade. A distinguished professor of Economics, he would write a number of books, including the widely used “Essentials of International Trade,” published in 1923.

Like President Kinley, Simon Litman was a strong moralistic participant, carrying forth his conviction that every person and every country has a right to achieve their full potentialities through peaceful international relations and trade. He would finish his autobiography at the age of 90, spelling out the many interesting and historic events his life would span in his homeland of Russia and the United States. A member of numerous campus and professional organizations, he and his wife Ray were instrumental in establishing the first Hillel foundation at the university.

Dr. Litman was born in Odessa, Russia, on October 31, 1873 and was deceased on May 7, 1973.

PhD:

University of Zurich, 1901

Selected Publications:

  • Litman, Simon. Prices and Price Control in Great Britain and the United States During the World War. New York: Oxford University Press, 1920. Print.
  • Litman, Simon. Essentials of International Trade. New York: J. Wiley & Sons, 1927. Print.
  • Moody, Walter D, Samuel MacClintock, Ernest L. Bogart, Oscar P. Austin, Maurice H. Robinson, A M. Stryker, Simon Litman, Stephen Leacock, Harrison S. Smalley, Elvin S. Ketchum, Henry P. Willis, Donald F. Campbell, Louis Guenther, William A. Chase, and Samuel D. Hirschl. Business Administration: Theory, Practice and Application. Chicago: La Salle extension University, 1910. Print.
  • Litman, Simon, and Stephen Leacock. Trade and Commerce. Chicago: LaSalle Extension University, 1911. Print.
  • Litman, Simon. San Francisco As a Foreign Shipping Port. Berkeley: University Press, 1908. Internet resource.

Other links/resources:

Simon Litman Papers at the University of Illinois Library Archives

Vita:

Not available