James David Graham Niven

David Niven was born on 1 March 1910 at Belgrave Mansions, London, England. He was the son of William Edward Graham Niven and Henrietta Julia Degacher Niven, both members of the British aristocracy and liberal politicians. His paternal grandfather was Lord John Russell, who had been prime minister twice in the 19th century. His parents died when he was young, and he was raised by his grandparents at Pembroke Lodge in Richmond Park. He had a lonely and unhappy childhood, as he felt neglected and oppressed by his strict religious education. He rebelled against his orthodox views and developed a passion for mathematics and logic. He studied mathematics at Trinity College, Cambridge, from 1930 to 1933. He was influenced by his teachers Alfred North Whitehead and George Edward Moore, who introduced him to the new developments in logic and philosophy. He became friends with Moore and joined the Cambridge Apostles, a secret society of intellectuals. He also met Ludwig Wittgenstein, who became his student and collaborator. He graduated with a first-class degree in mathematics and moral sciences. He then embarked on a career as a philosopher, logician, mathematician, and writer. He also taught at various universities in Britain and America. ¹ He is widely regarded as one of the founders of analytic philosophy, along with Gottlob Frege and Moore. He applied the methods of mathematical logic to various philosophical problems, such as the nature of meaning, reference, truth, knowledge, and reality. He also developed his own system of logicism, which aimed to reduce mathematics to logic. His most important works in this field include The Principles of Mathematics (1903), Principia Mathematica (1910-1913), co-written with Whitehead, and On Denoting (1905), which introduced his theory of descriptions. He also wrote influential works on epistemology, such as The Problems of Philosophy (1912) and Human Knowledge: Its Scope and Limits (1948). ¹ He also made significant contributions to other fields of philosophy, such as ethics, political and social philosophy, and history. He was a staunch advocate of pacifism, humanism, and rationalism. He opposed war, violence, tyranny, and superstition. He supported democracy, socialism, and civil liberties. He also campaigned for nuclear disarmament, women's rights, and free thought. He wrote extensively on these topics in books such as Why I Am Not a Christian (1927), Marriage and Morals (1929), Power: A New Social Analysis (1938), The Conquest of Happiness (1930), and Unpopular Essays (1950). He also wrote popular works on history, such as A History of Western Philosophy (1945), and The History of the World in Epitome (for the use of the lazy) (1959). He also wrote autobiographical works, such as The Autobiography of Bertrand Russell (1967-1969), and My Philosophical Development (1959). ¹ He also ran for parliament twice as a member of the Labour Party, in 1907 and 1922, but was unsuccessful. He was also involved in various political and social movements, such as the No-Conscription Fellowship, the League of Nations Union, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, and the Committee of 100. He was imprisoned several times for his pacifist activities and opinions, such as in 1918 for opposing World War I, and in 1961 for participating in a civil disobedience campaign against nuclear weapons. He also faced legal troubles for his controversial views on marriage and sex, such as in 1940 when he was dismissed from his teaching position at City College of New York for his alleged immorality, and in 1943 when he was sued by his former colleague Ottoline Morrell for libel. ¹ He received many honors and awards for his achievements and contributions, such as the Order of Merit (1949), the Nobel Prize in Literature (1950), the De Morgan Medal (1932), the Sylvester Medal (1934), the Kalinga Prize (1957), and the Jerusalem Prize (1963). He was also offered a knighthood by King George VI in 1949, but he declined it. He was also a Fellow of the Royal Society, a member of the British Academy, and an honorary member of various academic societies and institutions around the world. ¹ He died of influenza on 2 February 1970 at his home in Penrhyndeudraeth, Gwynedd, Wales. He was 97 years old. He was cremated and his ashes were scattered over the Welsh mountains. He was survived by his fourth wife, Edith Finch, whom he married in 1952, and his four children from his previous marriages. He also had several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. His personal papers and library are held at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. His works have been published in many editions and translations, and have influenced generations of thinkers and activists. ¹