CTV.ca Wrote:Economist John Kenneth Galbraith dies at 97
John Kenneth Galbraith, a Canadian-born economist who was considered a giant on the world stage as a Harvard professor, diplomat and advisor to U.S. presidents, died Saturday night at the age of 97.

Galbraith died of natural causes after spending about two weeks in Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, Massachusetts, his son Alan Galbraith told The Associated Press.

Galbraith's resume includes a stint as John F. Kennedy's ambassador to India. He was also an accomplished author, and an advisor to a number of Democratic presidents including Franklin D. Roosevelt and Bill Clinton.

Galbraith's son said his father "had a wonderful and full life."

Galbraith, a world traveller with a legendary wit and sense of humour, began to gain notoriety in the decades following the Second World War.

His book, The Affluent Society, published in 1958, argued that the U.S. economy was based on outdated principals, and was helping individuals become rich while it neglected important public infrastructure such as schools and roads.

Galbraith authored more than 1,000 articles and about four dozen books during his life, including The Affluent Society, a number of books on economics, and a personal memoir called A Life in Our Times.