Henry Carter Adams

Biography

Henry Carter Adams (1851–1921) was a pioneering economist who taught at the University of Michigan and helped shape the study of public finance in America. He served as the first chief of the United States Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics, where he collected data that illuminated working conditions and informed policy.

Adams also advised reformers and legislators, believing that rigorous research could guide humane economic policies. The quiet paths of Forest Hill Cemetery now shelter a scholar whose work strengthened the relationship between knowledge and responsible governance.