John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) was the most influential British philosopher of nineteenth century. More than just a writer, he was a public figure. His technical work in philosophy and economics was always in the service of controversial issues of public policy. In many ways he was the quintessential Victorian intellectual, bringing his critical faculties to bear on all the major issues of the day in a manner that was accessible to the average intelligent layperson. Only Bertrand Russel in the twentieth century has come close to achieving the kind of general public recognition accorded to Mill in the nineteenth.