**David Ricardo** (18 April 1772 – 11 September 1823) was a British [political economist](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_economy), politician, and member of [Parliament](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliament_of_the_United_Kingdom). He is recognized as one of the most influential [classical economists](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_economics), alongside figures such as [Thomas Malthus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Robert_Malthus), [Adam Smith](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Smith) and [James Mill](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Mill).[[2]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Ricardo#cite_note-2)[[3]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Ricardo#cite_note-3)Ricardo was born in London as the third surviving child of a successful stockbroker and his wife. He came from a [Sephardic Jewish](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sephardic_Jews) family of Portuguese origin