Karl Marx (5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a Germanphilosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. Marx's work in economics laid the basis for the current understanding of labour and its relation to capital, and has influenced much of subsequent economic thought. He published numerous books during his lifetime, the most notable being The Communist Manifesto. Marx studied at the University of Bonn and the University of Berlin, where he became interested in the philosophical ideas of the Young Hegelians. After his studies, he wrote for a radical newspaper in Cologne, and began to work out his theory of dialectical materialism. He moved to Paris in 1843, where he began writing for other radical newspapers and met Fredrick Engels, who would become his lifelong friend and collaborator. In 1845 he was exiled and moved to London together with his wife and children where he continued writing and formulating his theories about social and economic activity. He also campaigned for socialism and became a significant figure in the International Workingmen's Association.
Marx's theories about society, economics and politics – collectively known as Marxism – hold that human societies progress through class struggle: a conflict between an ownership class that controls production and a dispossessed labouring class that provides the labour for production. He called capitalism the "dictatorship of the bourgeoisie," believing it to be run by the wealthy classes for their own benefit; and he predicted that, like previous socioeconomic systems, capitalism produced internal tensions which would lead to its self-destruction and replacement by a new system: socialism. He argued that class antagonisms under capitalism between the bourgeoisie and proletariat would eventuate in the working class' conquest of political power in the form of a dictatorship of the proletariat and eventually establish a classless society, socialism or communism, a society governed by a free association of producers. Along with believing in the inevitability of socialism and communism, Marx actively fought for their implementation, arguing that social theorists and underprivileged people alike should carry out organised revolutionary action to topple capitalism and bring about socio-economic change.
Marx has been described as one of the most influential figures in human history. Revolutionary socialist governments espousing Marxist concepts took power in a variety of countries in the 20th century, leading to the formation of such socialist states as the Soviet Union in 1922 and the People's Republic of China in 1949. Many labour unions and workers' parties worldwide are influenced by Marxism, while various theoretical variants, such as Leninism, Stalinism, Trotskyism, and Maoism, were developed from them. Marx is typically cited, with Émile Durkheim and Max Weber, as one of the three principal architects of modern social science.
Timeline
The list on the left recounts significant events in the life of Karl Marx, and his friends and family. The list on the right provides contextual information, recounting wider political and historical events that had an effect on Marx.
The Congress of Vienna redraws the European map. Reaction and conservatism dominate all of Europe. The Concert of Europe attempts to preserve this settlement, but the forces of liberalism and nationalism make for dramatic changes.
20 November, Marx's future collaborator and friend, Friedrich Engels (1820–1895) is born in Barmen, Prussia as the oldest of nine children of the cotton manufacturer Friedrich Engels and his wife Elisabeth, née van Haar[3]
14 November, the German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831) (portrait pictured), whose ideas on dialectics would influence much of Marx's work, dies at the age of 61
1832
27–30 May, the Hambach Festival, a mass political demonstration, is held in the Palatinate region demanding the unification of Germany
1835
24 September, Marx graduates Friedrich Wilhelm Gymnasium[4] with good grades in Latin and Greek, decent in French and Mathematics, and a low grade in History
15 October, at the age of seventeen, Marx is enrolled by his father at the University of Bonn as a law student, despite his wishes to study philosophy and literature
22 October, having mismanaged his studies in Bonn, Marx is enrolled at the Frederick William University in Berlin as a law student and soon becomes a member of the Young Hegelians
1838
10 May, Marx's father, Heinrich, dies in Trier
Chartism, the first mass revolutionary workers’ movement, emerges in England
Engels performs one year of compulsory military service with the Prussian Army in Berlin. While in the city he befriends the Zionist philosopher and socialist Moses Hess (1812–1875), attends lectures at the Frederick William University and, like Marx before him, comes in contact with the Young Hegelians
23 January, two poems by Marx, "Der Spielmann" and "Nachtliebe", are published in the periodical Athenäum in Berlin
5 May, Marx begins writing for the Rheinische Zeitung (front-page pictured) in Cologne, where he becomes editor-in-chief on 15 October and publishes increasingly more radical articles
12 April to 22 December, Engels anonymously contributes a total of seventeen articles to the Rheinische Zeitung
3 March, Freiherr Ludwig von Westphalen, the father of Marx's fiancée Jenny, dies in Trier
16 November, Marx first encounters Engels, who visits the office of the Rheinische Zeitung on his way to England[6]
1843
In Manchester, Engels met Mary Burns (1823–1863), a young working woman with radical opinions. They begin a relationship that lasts until her death two decades later, although they never marry
17 March, under censorship and heavy pressure from the Prussian government, Marx resigns as editor-in-chief of the Rheinische Zeitung
31 March, the last issue of the Rheinische Zeitung is published before it is completely banned the following day
May, in a letter Marx formally breaks off any future relationship with Ruge, after quarrelling repeatedly over money and other matters during the publication of Deutsch–Französische Jahrbücher[7]
1 May, Karl and Jenny Marx's eldest daughter Jenny Caroline (1844–1883) is born in Paris
28 August, meets Friedrich Engels (pictured) at the Café de la Régence in Paris, this second encounter becomes the start of their lifelong friendship and intellectual collaboration[8]
29 November to 8 December, participates in the first congress of the Communist League in London and is tasked, together with Engels, to write a manifesto on behalf of the group
17 December, birth of Jenny and Karl Marx's eldest son Edgar (1847–1855) in Brussels
30 November, Marx's mother, Henriette, dies in Trier
1864
1865
1866
1867
14 September, publication of the first volume of Das Kapital (title page pictured), Marx's influential analysis of political economy and criticism of the capitalist mode of production
1868
1869
1870
During 1870 and the following year Engels writes about 60 articles on the Franco-Prussian War for the London daily newspaper the Pall Mall Gazette
2 December, Marx's wife Jenny dies in London after a long illness
1882
1883
11 January, At the age of 38, Marx's eldest daughter Jenny dies at Argenteuil near Paris, probably from cancer of the bladder, a condition which had afflicted her for some time
After nine years of work Engels publishes the third volume of Das Kapital
1895
5 August, at the age of 74, Engels dies in London of throat cancer
1896
1897
1898
31 March, at the age of 43, Eleanor Marx commits suicide after discovering that her partner, Edward Aveling, had secretly married a young actress in June the previous year[10]
Easton, Loyd David; Guddat, Kurt H., eds. (1997) [First published 1967]. Writings of the Young Marx on Philosophy and Society. Hackett Publishing Company. ISBN978-0872203686.
Freeman, Richard B. (1977), "On the Origin of Species", The Works of Charles Darwin: An Annotated Bibliographical Handlist (2nd ed.), Folkestone, England: Dawson, ISBN0-7129-0740-8
Gabriel, Mary (2011). Love and Capital: Karl and Jenny Marx and the Birth of a Revolution. Little, Brown & Company. ISBN0316066117.
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