WIST Quotations

Stamp, Josiah -- (Attributed)

Dave — Thu, 22 Jul 2021 17:42:24 +0000

It is easy to dodge our responsibilities, but we cannot dodge the consequences of dodging our responsibilities.

Josiah Stamp (1880-1941) English industrialist, economist, statistician, banker
(Attributed)

First attributed to Stamp in "Gems of Thought," Kingston Daily Freeman [New York] (3 Jan 1928). More discussion here.

Stamp, Josiah -- Some Economic Factors in Modern Life (1929)

Dave — Thu, 08 Jul 2021 22:13:48 +0000

The individual source of the statistics may easily be the weakest link. Harold Cox tells a story of his life as a young man in India. He quoted some statistics to a Judge, an Englishman, and a very good fellow. His friend said, “Cox, when you are a bit older, you will not quote Indian statistics with that assurance. The Government are very keen on amassing statistics — they collect them, add them, raise them to the nth power, take the cube root and prepare wonderful diagrams. But what you must never forget is that every one of those figures comes in the first instance from the chowty dar (village watchman), who just puts down what he damn pleases.”

Josiah Stamp (1880-1941) English industrialist, economist, statistician, banker
Some Economic Factors in Modern Life (1929)
(Source)

Quoting Harold Cox (1859-1936), English economist and politician.

Stamp, Josiah -- Comment (1935)

Dave — Thu, 05 Aug 2021 17:41:31 +0000

A pessimist looks at his glass and says it is half empty; an optimist looks at it and says it is half full.

Josiah Stamp (1880-1941) English industrialist, economist, statistician, banker
Comment (1935)

There is substantial evidence that Stamp used this now-cliched phrase, or variations of it, on multiple spoken occasions in 1935, the earliest references I could find.

The Railway Service Journal (later Transport Salaried Staff Journal) mentions 1935 after-dinner remarks by Stamp: "After dinner, Sir Josiah Stamp defined an optimist as 'the man who looks at his glass and says it is half full,' and the pessimist as 'the man who looks at it and says it is half empty.'" [Source]

Similarly, the Bristol Chamber of Commerce Journal mentions a 1935 speech: "A pessimist is a man who looks at the glass and describes it as half empty, and an optimist is a man who describes it as half full. It is all a question of the point of view." [Source]

A New York Times article (12 Nov 1935) includes "I came recently upon a graphic distinction drawn by Sir Josiah Stamp between an optimist and a pessimist," followed by the phrasing noted at the top. [Source, Source]