Quesnay, Fran�ois 1694-1774
French physician and economist

Born in M�rey, near Paris, he studied medicine in Paris, and rose to become first physician to Louis XV. His fame, however, depends on his essays in political economy. Around him and his friend, M de Gournay, the famous group of the �conomistes gathered, also known as the Physiocratic school. Quesnay's views were set forth in Tableaux �conomiques ('Economic Tables'). Only a few copies were printed (1758), and these are lost, but Quesnay's principles are well known from his contributions to the Encyclop�die and from his Maximes du gouvernement �conomique ('Maxims of Economic Government') and Le Droit naturel ('Natural Law'). He was sometimes known as the 'European Confucius'.