BIOGRAPHY OF JOHN STUART MILL Born in Pentonville, a suburb of London, in 1806, John Stuart Mill was one of the leading philosophical radicals who aimed to further the utilitarian philosophy of Jeremy Bentham. At the age of three he began to learn Greek and by the time he was eight he was learning Latin. By the age of fourteen he had done extensive work in logic and mathematics mastering the basics of economic theory. His father James Mill aimed to make John Stuart Mill a leader in views of the philosophical radicals. At fifteen John Stuart Mill undertook the study of Bentham’s research on the theory of legal evidence. This undertaking influenced him making this his life-long goal of reforming the world in the interest of human well-being. At eighteen he spent much time and effort editing manuscripts. Guided by his father he threw himself into the work of the philosophical radicals beginning his career. In 1823 he began working with his father. He rose in the ranks quickly and eventually took his father’s position as Chief Examiner in the East Indian Company.
In 1826 John Stuart Mill went through a deep depression. He felt as though his intellect had been educated his feelings had not. He began to read poetry and met Gustave d’Eichtahl in 1828 pulling him out of the depression. He was introduced to the works of Auguste Comte and Jon Sterling who were disciples of Coleridge. (Wilson 2007) Through these great thinkers Mill came to appreciate social and cultural institutions in the development of human beings. From Coleridge he came to view the educated class as the vehicle for ensuring social structure in the emerging organic period. Over the years Mill accomplished many feats. He married Helen Taylor in 1851. Helen passed away in 1873. He was elected to the House of Commons in 1865 but failed at re-election in 1868. He published System of Logic