Born: 29 August 1632 · Died: 28 October 1704 · Age: 72
English Enlightenment philosopher whose ideas on natural rights and government by consent influenced the American Declaration of Independence
Did you know?Before his philosophical career, he was a qualified physician who once performed a life-saving liver operation on a prominent politician.
Quick facts
Date of birth29 August 1632
Date of death28 October 1704
Age at death72
Cause of deathMyocardial infarction
NationalityBritish
BirthplaceWrington, United Kingdom
Occupationphilosopher, politician, physician
Editor's Take:
Locke's ideas run through the founding documents of modern democracy. He argued that people have natural rights to life, liberty and property, and that governments exist to protect those rights with the consent of the governed. If a ruler breaks that trust, he suggested, the people may replace them, a radical thought in the seventeenth century. Thomas Jefferson drew on this thinking when writing the American Declaration of Independence. Locke also argued that the mind starts as a 'blank slate', shaped by experience, an idea that influenced education and psychology.
Key Milestones
1667: Joins the household of Lord Ashley, later Earl of Shaftesbury
1683: Flees to the Netherlands
1689: Publishes Two Treatises of Government
1690: Publishes An Essay Concerning Human Understanding
John Locke (29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of the Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism".
John Locke's birthday is August 29. He was born on August 29, 1632 in Wrington, United Kingdom.
How old was John Locke when he died?
John Locke died on October 28, 1704, aged 72.
Who shares a birthday with John Locke?
Famous people who share John Locke's August 29 birthday include Michael Jackson, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, John McCain, Maurice Maeterlinck and Ingrid Bergman.
