The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics offers a nice brief biography on Adam Smith, the father of the modern field of economics.

Go straight to the source: Adam Smith's powerfully influential 1776 treatise making the case for free markets. It's in the public domain so you can read the whole thing for free on Google Books.

Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury, may have been the most influential Founding Father in shaping the modern American economy. This is a great online exhibition produced by the New York Historical Society.

GlobalSecurity.org breaks down Cuba's economy, one of the few command economies still operating in the world in the aftermath of the Cold War.

The Canadian Encyclopedia offers a brief overview of the traditional economy of the Inuit people.