Vernon Smith and Adam Smith

edinburgh, scotland nobel prize

June 8, 2023

Nobel laureate Vernon L. Smith looks back on the occasion of being the one to unveil the monument to Adam Smith in Edinburgh.
[Editor’s note: The AdamSmithWorks team was honored to receive the below assemblage of photos and recollections from Nobel laureate Vernon L. Smith and his wife, Candace Smith. The occasion was the unveiling of the now-famous statue of Adam Smith in Edinburgh. The recollections are Vernon’s, and the photos were all taken and shared by Candace. We thank Vernon and Candace deeply for trusting us with this legacy.]


Below are the photos that Candace took when I unveiled the Edinburgh Statue of Adam Smith on July 4, 2008.

Eamonn Butler [Director of the Adam Smith Institute] asked me to do it after first asking the Queen, who declined it. 

It was my one honor that exceeded my Nobel recognition in 2002.

The photo above includes me speaking to the audience that had gathered for the occasion.


In the second picture, I am about to pull the string revealing the statue to the crowd.