Herbert Spencer

27 April 1820 – 8 December 1903

Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) was an English philosopher, sociologist, and political theorist who developed an all-embracing evolutionary philosophy and coined the phrase 'survival of the fittest'. His multi-volume 'System of Synthetic Philosophy' applied evolutionary principles to biology, psychology, sociology, and ethics, making him one of the most widely read intellectuals of the Victorian era.

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Life events

Born in Derby, England
27 April 1820

Born into a Nonconformist family; his father was a schoolmaster, and Herbert was educated informally by his father and uncle.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Worked as a railway civil engineer
1837 – 1841

Took a position as an engineer on the London and Birmingham Railway at seventeen, working in the railway industry during Britain's railway boom.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Became sub-editor of The Economist
1848 – 1853

Joined the London financial weekly The Economist as sub-editor, entering the capital's intellectual circles that included George Eliot and T. H. Huxley.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Published 'Social Statics'
1851

His first book set out a radical libertarian theory of society based on a principle of equal freedom.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Published 'The Principles of Psychology'
1855

His 1855 work treated the mind as a product of biological evolution, anticipating later evolutionary psychology.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Began the 'System of Synthetic Philosophy'
1860

Issued the prospectus for his life's project, a comprehensive philosophical system grounded in evolution, publishing 'First Principles' in 1862.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Coined the phrase 'survival of the fittest'
1864

Introduced the phrase in 'Principles of Biology' after reading Darwin's On the Origin of Species; Darwin later adopted it.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Completed the 'System of Synthetic Philosophy'
1896

Finished the final volume of his ten-volume system with the third part of 'The Principles of Sociology' in 1896.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature
1902

Received a nomination for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1902, near the end of his life.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Died in Brighton, England
8 December 1903

Died at age 83; his ashes were interred in Highgate Cemetery, London, opposite the grave of Karl Marx.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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