Houston, George Frederick Barclay (academic and author)
Dates
- Existence: 1920 - 1996
Biography
George Frederick Barclay Houston (1920-1996) was Professor of Agriculture and Economics, Senior Research Fellow, and Professor of Political Economics at the University of Glasgow. He began his career at the University in 1951 and remained there until his retirement in 1984. His academic work saw him collaborate with The Scottish Farmers Union, The Milk Marketing Board, and the Highlands and Islands Development Board, which married with his research interests in the field of agricultural policy, particularly marketing and Scottish agrarian history. He was also a noted author and a respected adviser to many national and international bodies. He himself had studied at the Universities of Edinburgh (graduating in 1949) and Oxford. Whilst still a student in Edinburgh he joined the Communist Party and remained a lifelong member. At the outbreak of WWII, Houston was imprisoned in Wormwood Scrubs for being a concientious objector. [Source: Obituary, The Herald, 26 October 1996]