1. Angelo, Tatyana, Frances, Shatara Group 1 World Studies p.4

2.  John Locke was born near Bristol, England, in 1632.  In 1652 he won a scholarship to Christ College at Oxford. During his time at Oxford, Locke was impressed by the thinking of Rene Descartes. This led him to an interest in science and medicine.

3.  One of Locke’s most famous and important work is ”An Essay Concerning Human Understanding”, published in 1690.  In “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding,” he discussed how knowledge in the mind is formed, and also the types of knowledge humans can have about things in the world.  “Two Treatises of Government”, published in 1689, showed his political and philosophical views on government.  The ideas in the Two Treatises of Government influenced the Founding Fathers of America when drafting the Constitution.

4.  Believed that we should learn from reason not faith.  Believed in government by the people and protection in the government/having rights for citizens.  He argued in his Letters Concerning Toleration that no one religion is capable of demonstrating it’s claim to be the one and true religion.

5.  He died on October 28, 1704, famous throughout Europe. His thoughts inspired the philosophers of the Enlightenment and lead directly to the establishment of the democratic republic.