This article is a brief account of the personality of Hughlings Jackson, his mode of life, and his intimate friends. He grew up when worldwide developments were taking place in biological thinking. The philosopher Herbert Spencer impressed him with his exciting concept of evolution, a principle which Jackson realized was applicable to the functions and disorders of the nervous system. Jackson and Spencer corresponded over a period of at least 37 years but they were not friends, their personal qualities being very different. Revered by his colleagues, even though they may not have fully understood what he was trying to say, Jackson became a legend in his own lifetime and an inspiration to neurologists who succeeded him.