Omissions? Please select which sections you would like to print: While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. But 200 years after his birth, his liberalism is still relevant. We have a detailed account of his youth from Mill's own \"Autobiography\" of 1873. John Stuart Mill was the major British philosopher of the 19th century, whose thinking profoundly influenced subsequent debate on politics, society and individual liberty. She was a great influence on his work, particularly in the area of women's rights, of which she was an early advocate. Available instantly. replica by George Frederic Watts oil on canvas, 1873 26 in. The Subjection of Women was published in 1869. The autobiography concentrates on Mill's personal and intellectual development, including the mental crisis he suffered in his youth, which led him to reject many of … John Stuart Mill. John Stuart Mill, Jeremy Bentham, John Troyer (2003). He was educated exclusively by his father, who was a strict disciplinarian. She died in 1858 and the following year he published 'On Liberty', his most famous work, which they had written together and which he dedicated to her. Taken together, no theorist has contributed more to … The respective chapter in the System ofLogic he later claimed was the best part of the entire book. JamesMill, a Scotsman, had been educated at EdinburghUniversity—taught by, amongst others, Dugald Stewart—andhad moved to London in 1802, where he was to become a friend andprominent ally of Jeremy Bentham and the Philosophical Radicals.John’s remarkable education, famously recounted in hisAutobiography, was conducted with the intention of equippinghim for leaders… His main reading was still history, but he went through all the Latin and Greek authors commonly read in the schools and universities and, by the age of 10 could read Plato and the Athenian statesman Demosthenes with ease. John Stuart Mill, (born May 20, 1806, London, England—died May 8, 1873, Avignon, France), English philosopher, economist, and exponent of utilitarianism. Mill was not re-elected in the general election of 1868, so he returned to France. Mill was especially impressed by the work of Jeremy Bentham. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. G. und Stuart Mill. The eldest son of the British historian, economist, and philosopher James Mill, he was born in his father’s house in Pentonville, London. John Stuart Mill's book Utilitarianism is a classic exposition and defence of utilitarianism in ethics. He turned to poetry for consolation, particularly that of William Wordsworth. John Stuart Mill was born in London on 20 May 1806. Ring in the new year with a Britannica Membership, https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Stuart-Mill, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy - Biography of John Stuart Mill, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy - John Stuart Mill, The Library of Economics and Liberty - Biography of John Stuart Mill, The Victorian Web - Biography of John Stuart Mill, John Stuart Mill - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up), “Essays on Some Unsettled Questions of Political Economy”, “Examination of Sir William Hamilton’s Philosophy”, “Considerations on Representative Government”. After a short probation he was promoted in 1828 to assistant examiner. The Liberal philosopher John Stuart Mill MP (1806-1873) was elected MP for the City of Westminster in 1865 on a platform including votes for women. Unknown Binding Currently unavailable. John Stuart Mill, c.1870 © Mill was a philosopher, political economist and social reformer who had a huge impact on 19th century thought. John Stuart Mill. He died on 7 May 1873. Who is John Stuart Mill? Men, Profound, Feelings. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Soon after, in 1822–23, Mill established among a few friends the Utilitarian Society, taking the word, as he tells us, from Annals of the Parish, a novel of Scottish country life by John Galt. In 1851, Mill married Harriet Taylor. John Stuart Mill was born on 20 May 1806 in the Pentonville area of north-central London, the eldest of nine children of the Scottish philosopher and historian James Mill (1773 - 1836). The essay first appeared as a series of three articles published in Fraser's Magazine in 1861 (vol. He returned in 1865 when he was elected as member of parliament for Westminster. He writes that ‘the legal subordination of one sex to the other’ is ‘wrong in itself, and now one of the chief hindrances to human improvement’ (p. 1). He was employed by the company for more than 30 years, eventually becoming head of his department, but his job allowed him plenty of time for writing. Mill was a philosopher, political economist and social reformer who had a huge impact on 19th century thought. He divided his time between Avignon and London, studying and writing. BBC © 2014 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. 4 Copy quote. A philosopher and economist, Mill is best known for his political and moral works including On Liberty. 22. John Stuart Mill, (born May 20, 1806, London, England—died May 8, 1873, Avignon, France), English philosopher, economist, and exponent of utilitarianism. “The Classical Utilitarians: Bentham and Mill”, p.160, Hackett Publishing 103 Copy quote. Mill gave a vivid and moving account of his life, and especially of his extraordinary education, in the Autobiography 1873 that he wrote towards the end of his life. The duty of collecting and weighing evidence for himself was at every turn impressed upon the boy. x 21 in. He believed that an action was right provided it maximised the greatest happiness of the greatest number of people. His childhood was not unhappy, but it was a strain on his constitution and he suffered from the lack of natural, unforced development. For 20 years, from 1836 (when his father died) to 1856, Mill had charge of the British East India Company’s relations with the Indian states, and in 1856 he became chief of the examiner’s office. John Stuart Mill was born in 1806, in London. About the age of 12, he began a thorough study of Scholastic logic, at the same time reading Aristotle’s logical treatises in the original. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. Another outlet was opened up for him (April 1824) with the founding of the Westminster Review, which was the organ of the philosophical radicals. He was a delicate child, andthe extraordinary education designed by his father was not calculated todevelop and improve his physical powers. Mill’s Utilitarianism. They had been close friends for 20 years, but were only able to marry when her first husband died. He took part eagerly in discussions with the many individuals of distinction who came to his father’s house and engaged in set discussions at a reading society formed at the home of English historian George Grote in 1825 and in debates at the London Debating Society, formed in the same year. His exercise was taken in the form of walks withhis father, during which the elder Mill lectured his son and examinedhim on his work. John Stuart Mill. By his eighth year he had read in the original Greek Aesop’s Fables, Xenophon’s Anabasis, and the whole of the historian Herodotus. English philosopher and economist John Stuart Mill was born in his father’s house in Pentonville, London, on May 20, 1806. Whatever crushes individuality is despotism. John Stuart Mill, the eldest son of the philosopher, James Mill, was born in London on 20th May, 1806. Sitter back to top. Speech of the late John Stuart Mill at the great meeting in favor of women's suffrage, held in the Music Hall, Edinburgh, January 12th, 1871. by John Stuart Mill | 1 Jan 1871. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. In 1822, Mill was given a job in the examiner's office of the East India Company, where his father also worked. He was prominent as a publicist in the reforming age of the 19th century, and remains of lasting interest as a logician and an ethical theorist. Mill left no systematic legacy— there is no "Millism."  © John Stuart Mill in 1865, the year he was elected as MP for Westminster. John’s father, James Mill, was an ardent reformer and personal friend of Jeremy Bentham, the famous utilitarian philosopher. But he did not receive the impress passively and mechanically. One of his first efforts was a solid argument for freedom of discussion in a series of letters to the Chronicle on the prosecution of Richard Carlile, a 19th-century English radical and freethinker. Throughout his life he championed individual freedom and social reform, including equal rights for women. He also began to shape his own philosophical views. John Stuart Mill is an epigone of classical liberalism and, especially in his later years, under the influence of his wife, full of feeble compromises. John Stuart Mill was born on May 20th, 1806, in London. John Stuart Mill (1806-1873), Social philosopher, economist and advocate of women's rights. In 1858, following the Indian Mutiny, the East India Company was dissolved and its functions taken over by the British government. James intended that his son carry on the radical utilitarian empiricist tradition, and this was reflected in his upbringing: John learned Greek and arithmetic at 3, and helped to edit his father’s book (the History of India) at 11. He believed that, 'The true philosophy is the marriage of poetry and logic'. John Stuart Mill was born in London on 20 May 1806. “A person may cause evil to others not only by his actions but by his inaction, and in either case he … Corrections? In 1869 Mill published his famous essay 'The Subjection of Women', in favour of equality of the sexes. John Stewart Mill was a philosopher, an economist, a senior official in the East India Company and a son of James Mill. Intellectual was often surprisingly contrarian stories delivered right to your inbox 20 2006. Influence on Mill and high school students the BBC is not responsible for the content external. S who shared many of his youth from Mill 's thinking on women 's equality andthe education! 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