Builder and Entrepreneur of Seventeenth Century London - Alex Handin
Hometown: Guilderland, New York
Class Year: 2010
Major: Undecided
Research Advisor: Professor Steven Sargent
Project Description:
Nicholas Barbon was a builder, insurer, banker, and entrepreneur after London’s fire of 1666. He used dishonest business practices, but he also implemented new building designs. Barbon’s fire insurance company broke new ground as no previous person successfully created such a business. While not all of Barbon’s ventures were successful, he exceeded the average role of an entrepreneur of his day and one could classify him with the innovative entrepreneurs of today. He wrote economic theory on the building industry, trade and currency. Barbon through his business practices and theory foreshadowed economic behaviors and trends of future centuries.