Who is Adam Smith from The Worldly Philosophers and what is their importance?

Adam Smith was born in 1723 in Kirkcaldy, Scotland. He left the University of Glasgow to work as a tutor, and wrote his most famous book, The Wealth of Nations, which was published in 1776. His book strongly promoted laissez-faire and the invisible hand concept in explaining how the economy functioned. The market, according to Smith, evolved on the basis of the system of natural liberty with each individual economic agent following his own best interests, which worked out to the advantage of the group.