German philosopher and economist who co-wrote The Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital, inspiring socialist and communist movements worldwide
Did you know?He is buried in Highgate Cemetery in London, where his tomb is a Grade I listed monument.
Quick facts
Date of birth5 May 1818
Date of death14 March 1883
Age at death64
Cause of deathLung disease
NationalityGerman
BirthplaceTrier, Germany
Occupationeconomist, journalist, historian
Editor's Take:
Marx is unusual among philosophers in that his ideas were not just debated but used to build entire states. He spent much of his working life in London, often in poverty, researching in the British Museum Reading Room and supported by his friend and collaborator Friedrich Engels. His central argument, that history is driven by conflict between economic classes, changed how economists, historians and sociologists think about society. The governments later built in his name, from the Soviet Union to China, went far beyond anything he described, and many became notoriously repressive. Whether admired or criticised, he remains one of the most cited thinkers of all time.
Key Milestones
1843: Moves to Paris and meets Friedrich Engels
1848: Publishes The Communist Manifesto with Engels
1849: Settles in London in exile
1864: Helps found the First International
1867: Publishes the first volume of Das Kapital
1883: Dies in London
Karl Marx (German:; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, social and political theorist, and revolutionary socialist.
