John Locke

Timeline

1. 1652–1666Oxford · OxfordshireHe entered Christ Church, Oxford in 1652, studied classics and Cartesian philosophy, received his MA in 1660 and became a lecturer in Greek, gradually turning to medicine and experimental philosophy.
2. 1666–1675London · Greater LondonFrom 1666 he served as physician and secretary to the Earl of Shaftesbury, gaining a senior fellowship at Christ Church in 1668; he took part in discussions of religious toleration and colonial affairs, and began drafting An Essay Concerning Human Understanding around 1671.
3. 1675–1679Montpellier · LanguedocExiled to France for political connections, he continued medical observation and philosophical writing in Montpellier and elsewhere, systematically developing empiricist epistemology and reflecting on natural rights and the limits of governmental power.
4. 1683–1689Amsterdam · North HollandHe again took refuge in Holland in 1683, completing the main parts of Two Treatises of Government and An Essay Concerning Human Understanding; he returned after the Glorious Revolution of 1689, and both works were published in succession.
5. 1689–1704Essex · EssexSettled at Oates in Essex, he revised his work on education, took part in debates on money and trade, and his empiricist and constitutional ideas became core resources of the Enlightenment.