John Stuart Mill

John Stuart Mill (1806–1873) was a British philosopher, political economist, and prominent liberal thinker. Educated intensively from childhood by his father, James Mill, he became a leading advocate of utilitarianism, developing and refining ideas associated with Jeremy Bentham. Mill worked for the East India Company for much of his career while publishing influential essays and books on ethics, politics, and society. His landmark work *On Liberty* (1859) argued for individual freedom and limits on social and governmental power. In *The Subjection of Women* (1869), he made a forceful case for women’s equality. He also served as a Member of Parliament (1865–1868).