Patrick Manning

University of Pittsburgh

Patrick Manning, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of World History, Emeritus, is retiring from the University of Pittsburgh after almost 50 years of academic research and teaching at several institutions. His 1969 dissertation (University of Wisconsin – Madison) was a general equilibrium economic history of southern Dahomey, 1880-1914, which was subsequently published as a substantially expanded book version, Slavery, Colonialism, and Economic Growth in Dahomey, 1640-1960. He has published numerous articles and review essays on African economic history and is known for his key works, including Slavery and African Life (1990), Navigating World History (2003), Migration in World History (2004), and The African Diaspora: A History through Culture (2009). Manning’s new book, African Population, 1650-1950, will soon appear and confirm in still stronger terms the decline of African population in the slave-trade era.

At the World History Center, he has led the development of a world-historical data resource, which gives particular attention to existing and missing data on Africa. His Big Data in History (2013) gives rationale and methodology for this project.