GEORGE, Henry, American political econ omist: b. Philadelphia, 2 Sept. 1839; d. New York, 29 Oct. 1897. In boyhood he made a voyage before the mast to India; made his way to California as a sailor in 1858 and from thence to Vancouver Island; returning to Cali fornia, worked at his own trade of printer and other employments, until he became a reporter for the San Francisco Times, and in 1867 the editor of the same paper. While in Cali fornia he became deeply impressed with the evils of land monopoly as evidenced by the for tunes accruing to the holders up of' the soil, and this set a stamp on his after career. In 1871 he published 'Our Land and Land Policy' in which he advocated the single tax theory, later developed more fully in 'Progress and Poverty' (1879). In this latter work, he not only explained his policy of land taxation (see SINGLE TAx), but also attacked the doctrine of Malthus (q.v.), and the fund') theory, advancing the theory that the wages of labor are paid out of the value that the laborer creates, not from a °fund" of capital. The book did not
at once attract much attention, and was first widely noticed in England; later attaining great popularity in this country. George visited Eng land in 1880-81, and on his return settled in New York, where he devoted his time to writ ing, and agitation and organization for the single tax movement. In 1886 he was nomi nated for mayor of New York by the United Labor party, but was defeated, though receiv ing over 67,000 votes. In 1897 he was again nominated for mayor and took an active part in the campaign, but died before election day. His works, besides those already mentioned, in clude 'The Irish Land Question' (1881) ; 'Social Problems' (1883) ; 'Property in Land' ; The Condition of Labor' ; or Free Trade' (1886). His complete works were pub lished in 10 volumes in New York in 1904. Con suit George, 'Life of Henry (New York 1905).