OLL Birthdays & Anniversaries

Origin of Species (1859) in which he put forward the idea that all species evolve over time from common ancestors by a process which he called “natural selection.” It was based upon the evidence… more

Origin of Species (1859) in which he put forward the idea that all species evolve over time from common ancestors by a process which he called… more

Some Aspects of the Tariff Question (1915) became a classic work on modern trade theory. The book is an elaboration of articles which he wrote for the Quarterly… more

H.B. Acton (1908-1974) taught at Bedford College (London), the University of Edinburgh, and the University of Chicago; was editor of Philosophy, the influential journal of… more

John A. Hobson (1858-1940) was an historian and economic journalist who was one of the so-called “New Liberals” who emerged at the end of the 19th century. The New… more

James Mill (1773-1836) was an early 19th century Philosophic Radical, journalist, and editor from Scotland. He was very influenced by Jeremy Bentham’s… more

Jane Marcet (1769-1858) was home-educated and became an author of popular works of chemistry, botany, religion, and economics. Her works on economics (sometimes… more

The Institutes of the Christian Religion (1537). The ideas advanced in this work became the basis for the church and state Calvin would create in Geneva.

[For further… more

John Milton (1608-1674) ranks among the greatest poets of the English language. He is best known for the epic poem Paradise Lost (1667), but he also wrote prose works on history,… more

(1859) is regarded as one of the key defences of individual liberty and classical liberal political thought of this period.

[For further reading… more

Mill's theory of utilitarianism.

[For further reading see 19th Century Utilitarianism]

Burke’s Reflections on the Revolution in France with her Vindication of the Rights of Men (1790). She extended her analysis two years later to defend the… more

Self Help; with Illustrations of Character and Conduct (1859) he combines Victorian morality with sound free market ideas into moral tales showing the… more

After many years of struggle, a group of British abolitionists, including William Wilberforce and Thomas Clarkson… more

Common Sense (1776) which was an early call for the independence of the American colonies from Britain. His other well known work is The Rights of Man (1791) which was a… more

The Swiss juirist Emer de Vattel (1714-1767) was one of the foremost theorists of natural law in the 18th century. His writings were widely… more

Candide, or Optimism (1759), a “philosophic tale”, is a clever satire of France in the mid-18th century. He makes fun of religious… more

facsimile version of this edition as well as an HTML version.

[For further reading see Literature]