Thomas Sowell

 Thomas Sowell (/soUl/; born June 30, 1930) is an American author and economist, as well as a political commentator and academic who is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. He is a prominent conservative of the black community and is famous for his books and commentary. He was the recipient of the National Humanities Medal from President George W. Bush in 2002.Sowell was born in segregated Gastonia, North Carolina, to a poor family, and was raised in Harlem, New York City. Because of his poverty and family difficulties, he dropped out from Stuyvesant High School and started doing odd jobs. He later joined the United States Marine Corps during World War II. He was a student at night at Howard University after which he went to Harvard University. In 1958 He was granted the magnacum felicite degree. He received a master's degree in economics at Columbia University the next year and an economic doctorate from the University of Chicago in 1968 under the guidance of his teacher Milton Friedman. He was a professor at Stanford University, Amherst College and Brandeis University. He also has worked for research institutes, such as the Urban Institute. Since 1977, he has worked in the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and is currently the Rose and Milton Friedman Senior Fellow on Public Policy.