The July 4 weekend is the all-American holiday.

Which makes it the ideal occasion to remember a British philosopher who never set foot in America and died more than 70 years before the United States was born.

Why? Because John Locke -- Oxford scholar, physician and political revolutionary -- exerted profound influence on the Declaration of Independence, adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776.

For that impact, he deserves the title "intellectual father of our country."

Locke was born into a Puritan family of modest means but advanced through education. He entered politics in the 1660s, when he was personal physician and secretary to one of England's wealthiest and most politically active men.

The times were politically turbulent, and by the 1680s Locke became swept up in the opposition to King James II. He eventually fled to Holland, returning to England in 1689 after the Glorious Revolution that shifted power from the king to Parliament.

In that year Locke published his "Second Treatise on Government," in which he outlined his ideal government.

This government was created by the people to ensure their natural rights of life, liberty and property. The government was obligated by a "contract" with its people and could remain in power only with the consent of the people.

Locke's ideal government was based on the concept of natural law -- the idea that individual rights are present naturally, not granted by a ruler.

Locke's "Second Treatise" and his other publications proved central in shaping the ideas of Thomas Jefferson and other founders of the United States. Locke's development of natural law and natural rights also helped to shape the laws and democratic organization that remain the basis of American political life today.

The Declaration of Independence, written chiefly by Jefferson, displays Lockean influence in its opening passages. (See accompanying box.)

The language is so Lockean that one of the Declaration's signers, Richard Henry Lee, accused Jefferson of copying Locke. Jefferson issued a "so what?" response and later openly credited Locke with shaping the "harmonizing sentiments" of the revolution.

So, at celebrations today, remember the British philosopher who lit the fuse for American independence, which exploded like fireworks against the political sky 233 years ago.