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Thomas Hobbes
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Great Britons: 250 Lives

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Who was Thomas Hobbes?

Philosopher.

Date and Place of Birth:

5th April 1588, Westport, Wiltshire, England.

Family Background:

Son of the Vicar of Charlton and Westport who disappeared after a fight at his church door, leaving the care of his three children to his brother.

Education:

Westport School and a private school. Magdalen Hall, Oxford.

Chronology/Biography of Thomas Hobbes:

1608: Completed his degree at Oxford.

1610: Hobbes toured Europe and studied the Greek and Latin authors.

1628: Translation of Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War from the Greek. Made friends with thinkers such as Francis Bacon and writers such as Ben Jonson.

1628: His recently widowed employer the Countess of Cavendish dismissed him but he soon found work as a tutor to the son of Sir Gervase Clifton.

1629: Began thinking of philosophy and went on a second tour of the continent.

1631: Went back to work as a tutor for the Cavendish family.

1634: Went on his third tour to the continent.

1636: Visited Florence.

1637: He now considered himself a philosopher and scholar. Returned to England.

1640: The Long Parliament gave way to the Short Parliament and Hobbes fled to Paris as his writings were not in favour.

1641: His Correspondence with Renee Descartes terminated as the two came into disagreement.

1642: Start of the English Civil War. In later years many Royalists fled to Paris and became known to Hobbes.

1647: Taken on as a mathematical instructor to the young Charles, Prince of Wales. Taken ill and laid low for six months.

1648: Charles goes to Holland.

1649: (30th January) Execution of King Charles the First.

1651: He became reviled by the English Royalists and French Catholics over the secularism shown in his new book "Leviathan" and he sought protection form the English Puritan State. He returned to London to live a private life in Fetter Lane.

1660: Return of the Monarchy to England under King Charles Second, Hobbes's former pupil. Despite it being fashionable to decry "Hobbism" the King took pity on him and gave him a pension of £100.

1665: The Great Plague of London.

1666: The Great Fire of London. Parliament brought in a Bill against atheism and profaneness and suppressed books on atheism such as "Leviathan". Worried that he be declared a heretic he burned some of his papers. In the end it only meant that Hobbes could no longer publish any books on philosophy. His other works, chiefly on historical subjects and translations rom the Greek were published after his death.

Written Works:

  • 1629: “The Peloponnesian War of Thucydides” (Translation).
  • 1637: “The Art of Rhetoric”. (Translation of Aristotle).
  • 1642: "Elementa philosophica De Cive".
  • 1650: “De Corporo Politico, or the Elements of Law, Moral and Politic”. “Human Nature”.
  • 1651: “Epistle to Davenant on Gondibert”. “Leviathan”.
  • 1654: “Of Liberty and Necessity”.
  • 1674: “Odyssey” (Translation).
  • 1681: “Behemoth”.

Marriage:

Never married.

Places of Interest:

Derbyshire:

Hardwick Hall

Date and Place of Death:

4th December 1679, Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire, England of a bladder disorder which caused a stroke.

Age at Death:

90.

Site of Grave:

St. John the Baptist Church, Ault Hucknall, Derbyshire, England.

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