John Locke

English philosopher and political theorist whose Two Treatises of Government (1689) argued that legitimate authority derives from the consent of the governed and that natural rights — life, liberty, and property — precede the state. His ideas directly influenced the American Declaration of Independence and the French Revolution. Locke's empiricist epistemology, set out in An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1689), also shaped Enlightenment thought across Europe.

• Nationality: british
• Roles: Philosopher, Political Theorist