Milton Friedman was an influential American economist known for his strong belief in free-market capitalism. Born in 1912, he received the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 1976 for his research on consumption analysis and monetary policy. Friedman advocated for minimal government intervention in the economy and argued that inflation is primarily caused by changes in the money supply. Friedman was also a prominent public intellectual and wrote several books, including Capitalism and Freedom and Free to Choose. His ideas have significantly shaped modern economic thought and policy, influencing both Reaganomics in the United States and economic reforms worldwide.