View source for Bruno Hildebrand

{{Short description|German economist (1812–1878)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2025}}
{{Infobox economist
| name              = Bruno Hildebrand
| school_tradition  = [[Historical school of economics|Historical school]]
| image             = Bruno Hildebrand (1812-1878).jpg
| birth_date        = {{Birth date|1812|3|6|df=y}}
| birth_place       = [[Naumburg (Saale)|Naumburg an der Saale]], [[Kingdom of Saxony]]
| death_date        = {{Death date and age|1878|1|29|1812|3|6|df=y}}
| death_place       = [[Jena]]
| institution       = [[University of Marburg]]<br />[[University of Zurich]]<br />[[University of Bern]]<br />[[University of Jena]]
| field             = Economics
| doctoral_advisor  = [[Maximilian Wolfgang Duncker]]
| academic_advisors = 
| doctoral_students = [[Johannes Conrad]]<br>[[Karl Knies]]<br>[[Eugen Böhm von Bawerk]]
| notable_students  = 
| alma_mater        = [[University of Leipzig]]<br />[[University of Breslau]]
| influences        = 
| influenced        = 
| contributions     = 
}}

'''Bruno Hildebrand''' (6 March 1812 – 29 January 1878) was a German economist representing the "older" [[historical school of economics]]. His economic thinking was highly critical of [[classical economics|classical economists]], especially of [[David Ricardo]]. His ''[[Masterpiece|magnum opus]]'' was ''Economics of the Present and the Future'' (1848).  The basic aim of this work was to establish laws of economic development. Hildebrand also stated that economic development was linear, not cyclical. He supported socialist theory on the basis of religion, basic morals, and his beliefs about the negative effect of property on economic behaviour.

Like many other representatives of the [[Historical school of economics|German Historical School]] such as [[Friedrich List]], [[Karl Knies]], and [[Karl Bücher]], Hildebrand was a political [[liberalism|liberal]] who advocated liberal institutions and a constitutional state, and participated in the [[Frankfurt Parliament]] of 1848.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Schefold |first1=Bertram |title=Great Economic Thinkers from Antiquity to the Historical School: Translations from the series Klassiker der Nationalökonomie |date=2016 |publisher=Routledge |page=264}}</ref> An economics professor in [[University of Marburg|Marburg]], he was accused of high treason with respect to the turmoil of 1848 and condemned to death.  He avoided the execution of this sentence by escaping to Switzerland, where he served as an associate professor at the [[University of Zurich]]. Together with [[Alfred Escher]] ([[Credit Swiss]] Founder) he was a co-founder and CEO of the [[Swiss Northeastern Railway]] Nordostbahn and also was the founder of the Swiss National Bureau [[Federal Statistical Office (Switzerland)|Federal Statistical Office]] and original board member of [[Credit Swiss]] bank.  Hildebrand also created and directed the publication 'Jahrbücher für Nationalökonomie und Statistik'; for his contributions, he was granted honorary Swiss citizenship. He became a professor at the [[University of Bern]]. Hildebrand returned then to Germany, where he was a professor at the [[University of Jena]].

He married Therese Guttentag; their son was the artist and sculptor [[Adolf von Hildebrand]]. His grandson was the philosopher [[Dietrich von Hildebrand]]. His great-great-grandson is the environmental leader [[Martin von Hildebrand]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book|title=The Soul of A Lion: Dietrich von Hildebrand|first=Alice|last=von Hildebrand|publisher=[[Ignatius Press]]|year=2000|isbn=0-89870-801-X|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/soulofliondiet00vonh}}
* Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse: sciences économiques
* http://www.hls-dhs-dss.ch/textes/f/F8263.php

==External links==
* [http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3045000513.html Hildebrand, Bruno] at Encyclopedia
* [http://www.deutsche-biographie.de/sfz32253.html Bruno Hildebrand] at ''[[Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie]]''
{{Historical school economists}}
{{History of economic thought}}

{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Hildebrand, Bruno}}
[[Category:1812 births]]
[[Category:1878 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Naumburg (Saale)]]
[[Category:People from the Kingdom of Saxony]]
[[Category:German economists]]
[[Category:Hildebrand family|Bruno]]
[[Category:Members of the Frankfurt Parliament]]
[[Category:Leipzig University alumni]]
[[Category:University of Breslau alumni]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the University of Breslau]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the University of Marburg]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the University of Zurich]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the University of Bern]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the University of Jena]]
[[Category:Historical school economists]]