John Locke was born in Wrington, England, in 1632. His father was a lawyer and fought with the Parliamentary forces in the English Civil War in the 1640s. Although his family was well off they were not of any particular high social or economic standings. As a teenager Locke attended the Westminster School in London. Because of Locke’s successfulness at Westminster he earned a spot at Christ Church, Oxford in 1652. Locke remained there until 1667. Locke was an outstanding student, even though he had little appreciation for the traditional scholastic philosophy he leaned. Locke later went on to hold various administrative and academic posts, such as the teaching of undergraduates, at the college after obtaining his own undergraduate degree. It was during the course of his teaching Locke developed one of his substantive works, the Essays on the Law of Nature. During Locke’s last years of Oxford he devoted his time to the study of medicine and natural philosophy. While studying this endeavor Locke grew acquainted with Robert Boyle and many other significant philosophers. Along with that Locke undertook the training and normal course of education to become a physician. In 1667 Locke returned to London were he met and struck up a friendship with Anthony Ashley Cooper a parliamentarian and would later be lord Ashley then the first Earl of Shaftesbury. It is said that Locke played many different roles in Lord Ashley’s household. One, being appointed Lord Ashley’s personal physician. On one occasion Locke helped save Ashley’s life during a delicate surgical operation. While in London He continued to pursue his study in medicine and natural philosophy. He met and worked close with Thomas Sydenham, who became one of the most famous physicians of the age. In 1668 he became a member of the newly formed Royal Society and formed many contacts from within. Through Lord Ashley, who was a prominent English politician, Locke was able to hold a series of government jobs. During this period Locke started working on his most famous work, the Essay Concerning Human Understanding. Locke continued working on this for the next twenty years with the two earliest drafts dating from 1671. In 1675 Locke travelled to France and when he returned to England years later the political scene had drastically changed. Lord Ashley or Shaftesbury now, fell out of favor and Locke’s association with him was a liability. During this time Locke wrote, the Two Treaties Concerning Government his most famous political work. A lass it did not get officially published until 1689 but it did show Locke’s views on Government. After Shaftesbury’s death and to escape political persecution Locke fled to the Netherlands. Were he took up two projects. First was continuing the Essay. Second was a whole new work called Epistola de Tolerantia (A Letter Concerning Toleration) which was anonymously published in 1689. Basically saying that the government should be more tolerant of religious diversity than was common at the time. Locke eventually returned to England after the Glorious Revolution ended in 1689 and published the Essay and the Two Treatises. He later moved to Oates, Essex and stayed with Francis and Damaris Masham. Locke was acquainted with Damaris’s father Ralph Cudworth, philosopher. During this time Locke took up many interests like Philosophy, economics, politics, toleration, and educational theory. In his later years Locke turned to theology. His contribution into the field was The Reasonableness of Christianity, published anonymously in 1695. It was controversial because Locke argued that many traditional beliefs for christens were unnecessary. Locke also wrote a piece on Pauline Epistles, it was never finished but was published after his death. Locke suffered many health problems in his adult life. He had a respiratory ailments which came about from his many visits to London. In 1704 his health plummeted and on October 20th that same year he passed while Damaris Masham was reading him the Psalms.
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