Thomas Robert Malthus

Lore & Background

Thomas Robert Malthus was the sixth of seven children born to Daniel Malthus and Henrietta Catherine at The Rookery in Westcott, near Dorking, Surrey. He had a cleft lip and palate that affected his speech, a condition that had occurred in previous generations of his family. He was educated at Warrington Academy and later at Jesus College, Cambridge, where he graduated with honors as Ninth Wrangler in mathematics. He took orders in the Church of England in 1789 and became a curate at Oakwood Chapel in Surrey.

Reader's Guide

Malthus's significance lies in his 1798 work An Essay on the Principle of Population, which argued that population grows exponentially while food production increases arithmetically, leading to inevitable hardship unless checked by moral restraint, vice, or misery. This view, known as the Malthusian catastrophe, opposed the optimistic 18th-century belief in societal perfectibility. His ideas influenced Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace in developing evolutionary theory, and were read by Presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Malthus criticized the Poor Laws and supported taxes on grain imports (the Corn Laws). His failure to predict the Industrial Revolution became a frequent criticism. Despite this, his work laid the theoretical foundation for debates on global hunger and famines for almost two centuries.

Did You Know?

• Malthus had a cleft lip and palate that affected his speech, a condition that had occurred in previous generations of his family.
• His friend Harriet Martineau stated that due to his sonorous voice, he was the only person she could hear well without her ear trumpet.
• Malthus became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1818.
• His students at the East India Company College affectionately referred to him as 'Pop,' 'Population,' or 'web-toe' Malthus.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"Thomas Robert Malthus (13 February 1766 – 29 December 1834) was an English demographer and political economist best known for his pessimistic but highly influential views on population growth." — Thomas Robert Malthus "It is an acknowledged truth in philosophy that a just theory will always be confirmed by experiment." — Thomas Robert Malthus "Population, when unchecked, increases in a geometrical ratio, Subsistence, increases only in an arithmetical ratio." — Thomas Robert Malthus "I feel no doubt whatever that the parish laws of England have contributed to raise the price of provisions and to lower the real price of labour." — Thomas Robert Malthus