ABSTRACT
As one grows old, one becomes increasingly annoyed at confusion of almost any variety; and that which continues to surround the concept of ‘business history’ chances to impinge frequently enough upon my attention to impel me to try to reduce the disparities in concepts still existent among individuals interested in the field. Diversity of concepts was evident even among men interested enough in the area to come — in some cases, goodly distances — to attend a two-day meeting at the Harvard Business School on the teaching of the subject. Perhaps because I was already teaching economic history before business history was born, because I have known the chief actors in the world created by Professor N. S. B. Gras, and because I have had to give thought to the nature of entrepreneurial history, I may in this connection pretend to pose as a sort of academic amicus curiae. And I think that I have made manifest my interest in the field.
