Person    | Male  Born 4/2/1747  Died 6/6/1832

Jeremy Bentham

Categories: Philosophy

Born Spitalfields. A child prodigy, Bentham went to Oxford University aged 12. He chose not to practice law but to comment on it, institutions and society in general. He is associated with the doctrine of Utilitarianism and the principle of 'the greatest happiness of the greatest number'. He is considered the spiritual father of UCL (University College London) and it is there that his voluminous manuscripts are stored and where one can view his 'auto-icon'. This curious object (pictured) and the stories associated with it are well covered at the web site given as the picture source.

2020: the auto-icon has moved (well, it didn't get up and walk there on its own) to a new location at UCL. Londonist have the details and photos.

Our colleague, Andrew Behan, has researched this man. Starting with his Wikipedia page there were two dates of birth shown, 15 February 1748 and 4 February 1747. WikiTree seems to give just the 4 February 1747 date and as he was baptised on 14 February 1747 at the church of St Botolph without Aldgate, London, we have gone with the 1747 date. The baptismal register show his parents as Jeremiah and Alicia Bentham living at Church Lane.

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Jeremy Bentham

Commemorated ati

Bentham in Queen Anne's Gate

Jeremy Bentham, philosopher and reformer, 1748 - 1832, lived in a house on th...

Read More

Jeremy Bentham

Jeremy Bentham Known for many years as the 'Lord Wellington' it is still fre...

Read More

This section lists the memorials created by the subject on this page:
Jeremy Bentham

Creations i

Plaque to Milton erected by Bentham

On London found another drawing of the house, very similar to this one but wi...

Read More

Other Subjects

Whitechapel Boys

Whitechapel Boys

From the Whitechapel Gallery: "A group of significant artists and writers emerged from the Jewish diaspora in east London at the beginning of the 20th Century." Artists: David Bomberg, Jacob Epste...

Group, Art, Philosophy, Sculpture

1 memorial
Plato
1 memorial
John Locke

John Locke

Philosopher. Born Somerset. Wrote 'An Essay Concerning Human Understanding' and 'Two Treatises of Government'.  1693 wrote 'Some Thoughts Concerning Education' saying  "I think I may say that of al...

Person, Education, Philosophy

3 memorials
Ludwig Wittgenstein

Ludwig Wittgenstein

Philosopher. Born Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein in Neuwaldeggerstrasse, Neuwaldegg, Vienna, into a very wealthy Jewish international family, but brought up a Catholic. Initially he studied mecha...

Person, Engineering, Philosophy, Austria

1 memorial