Sir Michael Postan ^People

Economic historian Michael Postan was born in Bessarabia (to Efim Postan andhis wife Elena. Although Michael attempted to study at various Russian universities, army service and the Russian Revolution continually disrupted his education and he left Russia in 1919.Arriving in Britain in 1920, he enrolled at the London School of Economics. Postan is remembered as one of the most influential economic historians of the 20thcentury. In addition to holding academic positions at theISE, University College Lon- don and Cambridge, he is credited with devising the Postan thesis in regards to eco- nomics during the Middle Ages. Postan argued that in rural 14th century England, the increasing population faced economic and resource insufficiencies which were greatlyeased by the Great Plague.His arguments were outlined in the 1952 Cambridge Economic History of Eu-rope. Postan wrote a number of other economic histories of Western Europe and con-tributed to Britain's official civil history of the Second World War. He was a popular teacher and Eric Hobsbawm remembered him as one ofthe greatest lecturers at Cam- bridge. The nature of Postan's relationship with Judaism is not exactly known, but his ability to adapt to his new surroundings by forging a new identity may have contribu- ted to his success.