John Locke

John Locke was born on 28th August 1634 in Somerset, England as the son of an attorney. He became famous for his works on contract theory, best depicted in his work Two Treatises of Government (published in 1690). He died on 28th October 1704.

Early Life

From 1647 onwards he attended Westminster School for Boys and later studied at Christ Church in Oxford. During his studies he focused on a huge variety of subjects, attending courses on natural philosophy, literature, medicine and politics. At the beginning he seems to have been most interested in medicine. It was also during his time in Oxford, in 1685 to be precise, that the statesman Lord Ashley who spent a period of time in Oxford for medical treatment and was to ask Locke to become his personal physician and join him in his London home.

Political "Apprenticeship"

During the time Locke spent at Lord Ashley's house he developed his political interests. It was also due to the help offered him by Lord Ashley that Locke was hired by the British Government to research possible relationships between trade opportunities and colonization. He used his post to travel to many parts of the world during the next couple of years. His travels also took him to France in 1675. After studying the French language he started reading Descartes' works in the original, focussing on his philosophy. Influenced by Descartes he worked on An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (published 1689) during his stay in France, which lasted about three years.

Political Philosopher and Exile

When Locke returned to England in 1679, in the middle of the political crisis concerning Charles II. During thuis time he wrote his Two Treatises of Government (published 1690), which might be regarded as a direct reaction to the supposed Catholic plot and the events surrounding it. However, fearing the prospect of being arrested he fled to the Netherlands, where he once again joined his friend Lord Ashley and lived among other exiles. He only returned to England in 1689 after the Glorious Revolution had taken place and he deemed it safe enough to return.