Harold J. Barnett was born in 1917 in Paterson, New Jersey.  He died February 1987 in St. Louis, Missouri

B.S. University of Arkansas, 1939 M.S. University of California, Berkeley, 1941 M.A. Harvard University, 1948 Ph.D., Harvard University, 1952

Senior Economist, RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, California, 1952-1955 Professor of Economics, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, 1959-1963 (and Department Chairman 1959-1961)

Professor of Economics, Washington University, 1963-1981 Chair of Economics Department, 1963-1966 Professor Emeritus of Economics, Washington University, 1981-1987

Dr. Barnett was hired by Chancellor Eliot in 1963 as part of a plan to further develop several departments within the College of Arts and Sciences, including the Department of Economics.  Barnett was selected because his work transformed the Department of Economics at Wayne State.  In 1964, as chair of the Department of Economics at Washington University, Barnett hired Dr. Murray Weidenbaum, who later succeeded him as chair of the department in 1966.

Barnett’s teaching and research focus was on natural resources, energy, and economic development.  He wrote numerous papers and publications; the Olin Library system holds some of these titles.

Additional biographical information is in Washington University in St. Louis, A History by Ralph Morrow, page 549.