Thomas Hobbes was born on 5 April 1588 in Westport. An English philosopher, Hobbes was born in Malmesbury and studied at Oxford. He served as a tutor to the aristocratic Cavendish family and translated Thucydides, then spent years in France during the English Civil War. His masterpiece Leviathan, published in 1651, argues that without a strong government human life would be a war of all against all, and that people therefore agree, by a social contract, to give their obedience to a sovereign in exchange for security. It became one of the most influential works of political philosophy in the West. He was also a materialist who wrote on geometry, optics and religion, and he lived to the age of 91.
Before and after
- from 1585 to 1604Anglo-Spanish War
- 9 September 1585Birth of Armand-Jean du Plessis, duc de Richelieu
- from 1587 to 1589War of the Three Henrys
- from 12 April 1587 to 6 July 1587Singeing the King of Spain's Beard
- 5 April 1588Birth of Thomas Hobbes
- from 25 April 1588 to 1 August 1588Spanish Armada
- 17 July 1588Death of Mimar Sinan
- 1589Construction of Harmandir Sahib
- from April 1589 to July 1589English Armada
More in Science & technology
- 1543De revolutionibus orbium coelestium
- 21 June 1646Birth of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
- October 1684Leibniz publishes the first paper on calculus
- 15 April 1707Birth of Leonhard Euler
- 20 March 1727Death of Isaac Newton
- 28 August 1749Birth of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
The era
This moment belongs to the Early modern world (1500 CE to 1760 CE), voyages, printing and new ideas. You can also browse everything in the 16th century.