Abbott Payson Usher was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, and educated at Harvard University and the University of Paris. After receiving his Ph.D. from Harvard, he joined the faculties of Cornell University, where he taught economics and economic history from 1914 to 1920, and Harvard, where he served as professor of economics until his retirement in 1949.
A historian of technology, Usher helped pioneer the study of industrial technology and its impact on the development of the world economy. He emphasized the role of inventions in technological change, focusing on the historical forces underlying the inventive process rather than viewing inventions as the isolated achievements of gifted individuals. He also addressed the question of creativity and change within the continuous flow of human history. His scholarly output of books, articles, and monographs helped define econ__omic history and its role as an integral part of the field of economics. His best-known work, which remains a classic in the history of technology, is A History of Mechanical Inventions (1929). His other important writings include An Introduction to the Industrial History of England (1920) and The History of Deposit Banking in Mediterranean Europe (1943).
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