Adam Shortt

Adam Shortt, economist, historian (b at Kilworth, Canada W 24 Nov 1859; d at Ottawa 14 Jan 1931). Educated at Queen's U (BA 1883, MA 1885) and at Glasgow and Edinburgh, Shortt joined the staff at Queen's in 1886 and was professor of political science 1891-1908. An unusually influential teacher, he was also a pioneering scholar in Canadian economic history, and his articles on banking and his edition of Documents Relating to Canadian Currency, Exchange and Finance During the French Regime (1926) still have value. He co-edited, with A.G. Doughty, both Documents Relating to the Constitutional History of Canada 1759-1791 (1907, rev 1918) and, 1913-1917, the 23- volume Canada and its provinces. From 1908 to 1917 he served on the first Civil Service Commission in Ottawa, and from 1918 to his death was chairman of the Board of Historical Publications at the National Archives.