George Berkeley

12 March 1685 – 14 January 1753

George Berkeley (1685-1753) was an Anglo-Irish philosopher and Anglican Bishop of Cloyne, famous for his doctrine of immaterialism, summarized as 'esse est percipi' (to be is to be perceived). His Principles of Human Knowledge and Three Dialogues made him one of the three great British empiricists alongside Locke and Hume. He also spent several years in America attempting to found a college in Bermuda.

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Well-documented people whose lives overlapped with George Berkeley.

Life events

Born near Thomastown, County Kilkenny, Ireland
12 March 1685

George Berkeley was born at his family home in County Kilkenny on 12 March 1685.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Studied at Trinity College Dublin
1700 – 1704

Berkeley entered Trinity College Dublin in 1700, earning his BA in 1704 and becoming a fellow in 1707.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Elected a fellow of Trinity College Dublin
1707

Berkeley became a fellow of Trinity in 1707 and was subsequently ordained in the Anglican Church of Ireland.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Published An Essay Towards a New Theory of Vision
1709

Berkeley's 1709 essay on visual perception and distance was influential in the psychology of vision.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Published A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge
1710

The 1710 Principles set out Berkeley's immaterialist philosophy denying the existence of matter independent of perception.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Published Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous
1713

The 1713 dialogues presented Berkeley's idealism in a more accessible literary form.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Married Anne Forster
August 1728

In August 1728 Berkeley married Anne Forster, daughter of the Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Sailed to America and settled in Newport, Rhode Island
September 1728 – 1731

Berkeley moved to Rhode Island in 1728-1729 hoping to found a college in Bermuda, but returned to Britain in 1731 when promised funding never arrived.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Consecrated Bishop of Cloyne
1734

Berkeley was appointed Anglican Bishop of Cloyne in Ireland in 1734, a post he held for nearly two decades.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Died in Oxford
14 January 1753

Berkeley died suddenly on 14 January 1753 while living in Oxford and was buried in Christ Church Cathedral there.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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