A Remembrance of Tom Humphrey

1935 – 2023

Thomas (Tom) Humphrey passed away on Saturday, September 16, 2023. Tom was a valued member of our Research Department for 35 years, from 1970 until his retirement from the position of senior economist and research advisor at the end of 2004.

Humphrey earned his bachelor's and master's degrees at the University of Tennessee and his Ph.D. in economics at Tulane University in 1970. He joined the Research Department of the Richmond Fed that same year. In 1975, he became editor of the Bank's research journal, Monthly Review (later Economic Review and then Economic Quarterly).

Humphrey also wrote more than 70 articles for both external and Richmond Fed publications during his tenure. In so doing, he established himself as a leading scholar of the history of monetary thought and made lasting contributions to the profession's understanding of the role of the central bank as a lender of last resort (LOLR).

"Almost alone, in a series of papers, he chronicled the history of the quantity theory of money," said Robert Hetzel, who was an economist at the Richmond Fed from 1975 to 2018.

Kartik Athreya, Research Director at the Richmond Fed, noted that "Tom put our department on the map when it came to understanding the most fundamental questions in central banking. Tom’s work helped us better understand the origins of, and the evolution of economists’ thinking on, the LOLR doctrine. The latter remains a live and critical issue in 2023, ensuring that we will continue to keep him and his work with us"

"Tom was also a mentor for many of us," said Athreya. "He was a skilled economist, always thinking about the main ideas that our field has produced, with special attention to central banking. He was also a skilled writer and generous with his help. I was part of a large group of economists who saw our papers improve under his careful and dedicated hand as an editor."

Humphrey continued to do research during his retirement. In 2019, he co-authored the book Gold, The Real Bills Doctrine, and the Fed: Sources of Monetary Disorder, 1922-1938 with Richard Timberlake. He is, and will be, missed.