Anne Robert Jacques Turgot
A brilliant reformist minister whose attempts to liberalize the French economy before the Revolution were thwarted by the aristocracy he threatened.
1727–1781 (age 54)·French economist and statesman·Birthday: May 10
Biography
In the twilight of the French monarchy, Anne Robert Jacques Turgot represented a fleeting chance for enlightened reform. A trained economist and administrator, he believed in the power of free markets and individual enterprise long before these ideas became mainstream. As the powerful Controller-General of Finances under Louis XVI, Turgot launched a bold program to rescue the kingdom from bankruptcy. He abolished the corvée, the forced labor on roads, and sought to dismantle the guilds and internal trade barriers that strangled commerce. His 'Six Edicts' were a direct assault on aristocratic privilege, proposing to tax the landed nobility. The backlash was swift and brutal; the privileged classes circled their wagons, and a frustrated king dismissed him after only twenty months. His failure demonstrated the Old Regime's inability to reform itself, a prelude to the coming revolution.
#1 When Anne Was Born
The biggest hits of 1727
Anne's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1727Born
1732Started school
1740Became a teenager
1743Could drive
1745Could vote
1748Turned 21
1757Turned 30
1767Turned 40
1777Turned 50
1781Died at 54
Key Achievements
- Served as Controller-General of Finances for France from 1774 to 1776, instituting major economic reforms.
- Authored 'Reflections on the Formation and Distribution of Wealth' (1766), a foundational text in classical economics.
- As Intendant of the Limoges region, he successfully implemented local administrative and economic improvements.
Did You Know?
He was a close friend of the philosopher Voltaire, who admired his reformist ideas.
Turgot initially trained for a career in the church but left to pursue public administration.
His economic writings influenced later thinkers like Adam Smith.
“The state should protect the natural liberty of the buyer to buy, and the seller to sell.”
