Joseph Schumpeter

Joseph Alois Schumpeter was born in Austria on February 8, 1883, trained as a political economist, and in 1919 served briefly as the country's Finance Minister before returning to academic life. In 1932 he emigrated to the United States and joined the faculty at Harvard University, where he would remain for the rest of his career; he became an American citizen in 1939. He rose to become one of the most influential economists of the early 20th century by popularizing the concept of creative destruction - a term originally coined by Werner Sombart - and arguing that capitalism advances not through equilibrium but through waves of innovation that demolish old structures. His magnum opus, Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy, laid out that vision. He died on January 8, 1950.