Henry Thornton on the Bank of England

Henry Thornton is a British monetary policy theorist who made important contributions to economics literature. He also made an impact in the areas of politics, social sciences and religion. Thornton is known as “the father of the modern central bank” thanks to his contributions to monetary policy with the publication of his only but very influential book, the Paper Credit. The years in which Thornton wrote his book was characterized by a period of economic turmoil after the era of abundance. The war against France caused panic and suspension of cash payments in 1793. The gold standard was abandoned. These historical changes provided Thornton an understanding of such events.