It’s been widely reported today that George Mason University economics professor and syndicated columnist Walter E. Williams passed away today (December 2) at the age of 84. My career as an economist and my decision to study economics for five years at George Mason were significantly influenced by Walter Williams and I consider him to be one of my top intellectual heroes and mentors. There have already been many tributes, news articles, remembrances, and testimonials today acknowledging the loss of a great professor, scholar, writer, public speaker, and a fierce defender of liberty, freedom, and markets and I’ll summarize some of those below and add a few items of my own.
1. Veronique de Rugy in National Review: “Walter Williams, R.I.P.“
2. Don Boudreaux I on Cafe Hayek: “My Inadequate Tribute to One of the Greatest Men I’ve Ever Known“
3. Don Boudreaux II in the Wall Street Journal: “Walter Williams, R.I.P.”
4. Steve Hayward on Power Line: “Walter Williams, RIP“
5. From Dominic Pino, a student at George Mason University:
On Monday, December 1, he taught his last class of ECON 811 [Microeconomic Theory I] to complete the semester, ending the 7:20-10:00 p.m. class around 30 minutes early, as was typical. Fewer than 12 hours later, he died, aged 84. R.I.P.
6. Thomas Sowell “Walter E. Williams 1936-2020“
7. Walter William’s last syndicated weekly newspaper column appeared today — “Black Education Tragedy Is New“
8. The November 20, 2020, SMJ Podcast #1 above with Walter just 11 days before his passing may have been his last interview.
9. Here’s Walter William’s “Proclamation of Amnesty and Pardon” granted to all persons of European descent.
10. Nick Gillespie in Reason “‘I Just Do My Own Thing’: Walter Williams, RIP“
I’ve quoted or mentioned Walter E. Williams more than 60 times on CD over the last 14 years, including here, here, here, here, here, here and here. In a future post, I’ll feature some Walter Willams quotes from those posts.
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