PHILOSOPHER

A. S. Neill

1883 - 1973

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Alexander Sutherland Neill (17 October 1883 – 23 September 1973) was a Scottish educator and author known for his school, Summerhill, and its philosophy of freedom from adult coercion and community self-governance. Raised in Scotland, Neill taught at several schools before attending the University of Edinburgh in 1908–1912. He took two jobs in journalism before World War I, and taught at Gretna Green Village School in the second year of the war, writing his first book, A Dominie's Log (1915), as a diary of his life there as head teacher. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of A. S. Neill has received more than 254,010 page views. His biography is available in 33 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 31 in 2019). A. S. Neill is the 336th most popular philosopher (down from 283rd in 2019), the 583rd most popular biography from United Kingdom (down from 516th in 2019) and the 19th most popular British Philosopher.

A. S. Neill is most famous for his work with children and his founding of Summerhill School. Neill believed that children should be given the freedom to explore their own interests and learn from their own mistakes.

Memorability Metrics

  • 250k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 63.67

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 33

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 9.67

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 2.04

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among PHILOSOPHERS

Among philosophers, A. S. Neill ranks 336 out of 1,267Before him are Edgar Morin, Wang Yangming, Justus Lipsius, Asanga, Thrasymachus, and Elena Cornaro Piscopia. After him are Lev Shestov, Anne Sullivan, David Strauss, Guan Zhong, Aenesidemus, and Francisco de Vitoria.

Most Popular Philosophers in Wikipedia

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1883, A. S. Neill ranks 35Before him are Napoleon Hill, Angela Hitler, Douglas Fairbanks, Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy, Peter Kürten, and Mohammed Nadir Shah. After him are Nina Ricci, Alexander Yegorov, Giovanni Messe, Zaifeng, Prince Chun, Ivan Meštrović, and Döme Sztójay. Among people deceased in 1973, A. S. Neill ranks 43Before him are Walter Rudolf Hess, Gerard Kuiper, Jean-Pierre Melville, Amílcar Cabral, François Cevert, and Taha Hussein. After him are Lex Barker, Dickinson W. Richards, Ingeborg Bachmann, W. H. Auden, Edward G. Robinson, and Elsa Schiaparelli.

Others Born in 1883

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Others Deceased in 1973

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In United Kingdom

Among people born in United Kingdom, A. S. Neill ranks 583 out of 8,785Before him are Jonathan Pryce (1947), Antony Hewish (1924), Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn (1767), Richard of Cornwall (1209), Maud of Wales (1869), and Niels Kaj Jerne (1911). After him are Chris Slade (1946), Erasmus Darwin (1731), Tony Iommi (1948), Annie Lennox (1954), Joan Collins (1933), and Ramsay MacDonald (1866).

Among PHILOSOPHERS In United Kingdom

Among philosophers born in United Kingdom, A. S. Neill ranks 19Before him are John Wycliffe (1324), Pelagius (360), William Godwin (1756), G. E. Moore (1873), Thomas Carlyle (1795), and Houston Stewart Chamberlain (1855). After him are Francis Hutcheson (1694), John of Salisbury (1110), J. L. Austin (1911), E. H. Carr (1892), Adam Ferguson (1723), and H. L. A. Hart (1907).