Mill himself echoes many of the sentiments expressed by the Enlightenment political philosophers whose works helped inspire these revolutions, including Jean-Jacques Rousseau and John Locke. In both of these historical periods, the masses revolted against tyrannical powers that limited their individual liberties and rights. Mill was born in the early years of the 19th century, shortly after the French and American Revolutions. Mill served as a Member of Parliament for Westminster from 1865 to 1868 and continued writing about and sharing his ideas of liberty, utilitarianism, and women’s rights until his death in Avignon, France in 1873. Heartbroken, Mill bought a house in France near where Harriet was buried and split his time between there and England. Unfortunately, Harriet died while they were travelling in France in 1858. Harriet played a significant role in helping John write his essays and speeches-he even credits her as something of a co-author in the beginning of On Liberty. Although she was already married, John and Harriet maintained a healthy platonic relationship until her husband’s death in 1849 and their marriage in 1851. When he was in his 20s, John met Harriet Taylor and quickly fell in love with her. Mill began his professional life as an administrator for the British East India Company from 1823 until 1858. Fortunately, John found happiness in reading poetry and was able to overcome his depression. Mill’s childhood was so unusual that as an adult he had a minor breakdown and began questioning whether any of his education was useful because it didn’t prepare him for a successful social life. To that end, James took firm control of John’s education-Mill was secluded from other children his age (other than his siblings) and began learning classical languages when he was three years old before moving onto useful subjects such as arithmetic, science, philosophy, and politics. James Mill was passionate about the ethical theory of utilitarianism and raised John to be the next leader of the movement. John Stuart Mill was the oldest of James and Harriet Mill’s nine children.

On liberty utilitarianism