Mill, James 1773-1836
Scottish philosopher, historian and economist

Born in Northwater Bridge, Logiepert, Tayside, he studied for the ministry at Edinburgh and was ordained in 1798. He moved to London (1802) and supported himself through journalism and editorial work for periodicals such as the Edinburgh Review and St James's Chronicle. He became a disciple and friend of Jeremy Bentham, an enthusiastic proponent of utilitarianism, and a prominent member of the circle of 'Philosophical Radicals' which included George Grote, David Ricardo, John Austin and in due course his eldest son John Stuart Mill. The group was active in social and educational causes and James Mill took a leading part in the founding of University College London (1825). His first major publication was the History of British India (1817-18) on which he had worked for 11 years and which led to a permanent position with the East India Company, where he rose to become head of the Examiner's Office (1830). He continued writing utilitarian essays for publications like the Westminster Review and the Encyclopaedia Britannica, and published three further important books: Elements of Political Economy (1821), which derived from Ricardo and was an important influence on Karl Marx; Analysis of the Phenomenon of the Human Mind (1829), his main philosophical work, which provides a psychological basis for utilitarianism; and A Fragment on MacKintosh (1835), which argues that morality is based on utility.