author
James Mill
1773–1836
A leading voice of early utilitarianism, he wrote with unusual force about politics, economics, and empire. Best known today for The History of British India, he helped shape major debates in 19th-century Britain.
1 Audiobook
Analysis of the Phenomena of the Human Mind
by James Mill
About the author
Born in Scotland in 1773, James Mill became a philosopher, historian, economist, and political thinker whose work reached far beyond the lecture room. After studying at the University of Edinburgh, he moved to London, where he became closely associated with Jeremy Bentham and the circle of reformers who argued that public life should be guided by utility and reason.
Mill wrote on government, education, psychology, and economics, but his most famous book was The History of British India (1817). That work was highly influential in Britain and helped secure him a career at the East India Company, where he later rose to a senior post. He is also remembered as an important figure in the Ricardian school of economics.
He was the father of John Stuart Mill, but James Mill stands as a major writer in his own right: sharp, systematic, and deeply involved in the reforming spirit of his age. He died in London in 1836.