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Social reformer, economist; born in Philadelphia. Although not a truly original or systematic economist, he was perhaps the most influential 19th-century U.S. social analyst, renowned for his fervent writing and magnetic speaking style. His book, Progress and Poverty (1879), was one of the most widely read books of that time; it sparked many heated debates among intellectuals, and was translated into several languages. Primarily self-taught, his formal schooling ended at age 14 and he worked as a sailor, a journalist, and a printer before embarking on Progress and Poverty, which he wrote while working as a state gas meter inspector in California. The book was his reaction to the great disparity he saw between the wealthy and the poor. In order to abolish poverty and all economic crises, his theory called for a "single-tax" on land, exclusive of improvements, that would be sufficient to finance all government expenses. His popularity as a lecturer in the U.S.A. and abroad and his association with the single-tax movement led him to run, albeit unsuccessfully, for mayor of New York City in 1886.