Vincent de Gournay

Vincent de Gournay , 1712-59, French economist, precursor of the physiocrats and of Adam Smith. A wealthy merchant, he was in government service as intendant of commerce from 1751 to 1758. He translated and annotated the chief work of Josiah Child (see under Child, Sir John and gathered around him a group of men interested in reforming the economy of France and in abolishing trade restrictions. His favorite phrase was Laissez faire, laissez passer, and he is generally credited with being its originator. Unlike the physiocrats, he regarded industry and commerce as well as agriculture to be important sources of wealth.

Vincent personal forename of two saints.
St Vincent de Paul (1581–1660), French priest. He devoted his life to work among the poor and the sick and established institutions to continue his work, including the Congregation of the Mission (1625) and the Daughters of Charity (Sisters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul) (1633). His feast day is 19 July.
St Vincent of Saragossa (d. 304), Spanish deacon and martyr, said to have been tortured on a gridiron, who was the centre of a widespread early cult. He is typically shown either with a palm as a sign of being a deacon, or with a gridiron. His feast day is 22 January, and his emblems are a vine, a palm, and a gridiron.

Wallace, (William) Vincent (b Waterford, 1812; d Château de Haget, nr. Vieuzos, 1865). Irish composer. Played org. and vn. as boy. Led orch. in Dublin th. Emigrated to Australia 1835, opening music coll. in Sydney (which failed) and then touring as violinist and pianist in Chile, Argentina, Cuba, and USA, where he was lionized. Returned to London 1845 where he composed successful opera Maritana. Operas Lurline (1847) and The Amber Witch (1861) were successful, as was his pf. mus.