Frederic Pryor

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Frederic L. Pryor is an American and Professor Emeritus of Economics at Swarthmore College best known for his role in a Cold War spy swap.

In August, 1961, Pryor was arrested and held without charge by the East German Police. He was taking graduate courses in East European studies at Free University of West Berlin 1959-1961.

On February 10, 1962, Pryor along with American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers was freed in a spy swap for Soviet KGB Colonel Vilyam Fisher (aka Rudolf Abel) at the Glienicke Bridge between West Berlin and Potsdam, East Germany.

Francis Gary Powers had been shot down in his U-2 spy plane on May 1, 1960. Soviet Spy Rudolf Abel had been arrested in 1957 by the FBI in the famous Hollow Nickel Case, and sentenced to 30 years in prison.

[edit] Academic History

B.A. Chemistry, 1955, Oberlin College
M.A., Economics, 1957, Yale University
Ph.D., Economics, 1962, Yale University with courses at Free University of West Berlin, 1959-1961.

[edit] Career

From his Resume:
"Senior Research Scholar, Swarthmore College, 1998 - present. Professor of Economics, 1972 - 1998. Assistant and Associate Professor, 1967-72; Acting Chair, 1980/81; 1983/84; 1988/89,
Visiting Scholar, Max-Planck-Institut zur Erforschung von Wirtschaftssystemen, 2004.
Guest Scholar, Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C., 1993/1994.
Visiting Scholar, Hoover Institution, Stanford University, 1989/90.
Visiting Professor, Institut Universitaire de Hautes Etudes Internationales, Geneva, 1982; 1977/78.
Visiting Professor, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris, 1981.
Visiting Fellow, Institute of International Studies, University of California at Berkeley, 1972/73.
Visiting Associate Professor of Economics, International Development Research Center, Indiana University, 1969.
Visiting Associate Professor of Economics (part time) Lincoln University, 1967.
Research Staff Economist, Economic Growth Center, Yale University, 1964/66.
Assistant Professor of Economics, University of Michigan, 1962/64."