Born: 10 October 1807, United Kingdom
Died: 3 November 1858
Country most active: United Kingdom
Also known as: Harriet Hardy
The following bio was written by Emma Rosen, author of On This Day She Made History: 366 Days With Women Who Shaped the World and This Day In Human Ingenuity & Discovery: 366 Days of Scientific Milestones with Women in the Spotlight, and has been republished with permission.
Harriet Taylor Mill was a prominent British philosopher and advocate of women’s rights. Her extensive body of work is featured in “The Complete Works of Harriet Taylor Mill” and can also be found in “The Collected Works of John Stuart Mill,” particularly in volume XXI.
Harriet Hardy was born in Walworth, south London, to parents Harriet and Thomas Hardy, a surgeon. Educated at home, she showed an early interest in poetry and radical ideas, associating with Unitarian “free thinker” Rev. William Fox.
In 1826, at the age of 18, she married her first husband, John Taylor, with whom she had three children. In 1831, she met John Stuart Mill, likely orchestrated by their mutual interest in women’s rights. Their friendship grew quickly, though it briefly waned for reasons unknown. Mill penned a passionate love letter in French during this period, expressing his desire for their paths to cross again.
After the death of her first husband in 1849, Taylor and John Stuart Mill married in 1851. Taylor had written numerous essays, including joint pieces with Mill on domestic violence and women’s enfranchisement, published in 1851.
During her lifetime, Harriet contributed extensively to the Unitarian journal Monthly Repository and the Society for the Distribution of Useful Knowledge, often anonymously. She co-authored newspaper articles on domestic violence, and Mill credited her as a valuable contributor to his works, including “On Liberty” and “Principles of Political Economy.”
Mill acknowledged her as a joint author of their writings, stating that when thoughts and speculations are shared, the question of originality becomes inconsequential. The extent of their collaboration remains a topic of ongoing debate.
The following is excerpted from Infinite Women creator Allison Tyra’s book Uncredited: Women’s Overlooked, Misattributed, and Stolen Work.
Philosopher and women’s rights activist Harriet Taylor Mill published little under her own name during her lifetime, but contributed significantly to the works of her husband, John Stuart Mill. Although he acknowledged her contributions in other ways, such as dedicating On Liberty to her and crediting her as a joint author in his autobiography, she was never listed as a co-author on their collaborations. After her 1858 death, Helen Taylor, her daughter from her first marriage, took care of Mill, who reportedly valued his stepdaughter’s contributions in intellectual matters as well as the running of his household. Mill claimed that his later work was the result of three minds, not one, referring to his wife and stepdaughter, and even after his death, Helen continued to edit and publish his work.