John Ruskin was an English writer, art critic, art historian, and aesthetician born in the nineteenth century, whose occupations ranged across painting, philosophy, poetry, journalism, and architecture.

Born in London on 8 February 1819, Ruskin was educated at King's College London and Christ Church. During his time at university he received the Newdigate Prize. He went on to work as a university teacher, a painter, a daguerreotypist, and a literary critic, in addition to his writing, producing all of his work in English.

His notable works include Modern Painters, The Seven Lamps of Architecture, The Stones of Venice, Unto This Last, and Fors Clavigera. These titles span art criticism, architectural writing, and broader prose, reflecting the wide range of disciplines in which Ruskin was active. He was associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and with the freethought movement, two quite different circles that together suggest the variety of his intellectual engagements.

Ruskin died on 20 January 1900 in Coniston. His output across so many fields — from art criticism and architectural writing to poetry and philosophy — is anchored by his documented association with both the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the freethought movement, connections that run through his long career as a writer and thinker.