Friedrich Engels (1820–1895)
Author of The Communist Manifesto
About the Author
Friedrich Engels is perhaps best remembered as the confidant, colleague, and benefactor of Karl Marx. Engels was born into a Calvinist family on November 28, 1820. The family owned fabric mills in the Rhineland and had business interests in Manchester, England, Engels joined the family business at show more age 16; he never had a formal university education. Despite his family's industrial background, Engels was sympathetic to the poverty of the working masses. At age 18 he published an attack on industrial poverty, and later joined the Hegelian movement that so influenced Marx and bothered conservative Prussian authorities. Engels first met Marx in 1842, while Marx was editor of a radical newspaper in Cologne. However, they did not establish their lifelong friendship until they met again in Paris two years later. Engels published several works related to economics, the first of which, Outlines of a Critique of Political Economy (1844), attempted to reconcile Hegelian philosophy with the principles of political economy. His second book, The Condition of the Working Class in England (1845), was a damning description and condemnation of the poverty generated by the Industrial Revolution. Engels also co-authored three major works with Marx, the most important being the Communist Manifesto (1948). Engels also wrote several historical works, which are more important to historians than to economists. These include The Peasant War in Germany (1850), Germany: Revolution and Counter-Revolution (1851), and The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State (1884). In general, these works are more descriptive than theoretical, and they closely parallel Marx's views on industrialization and class struggle. In addition to being a friend of Marx, Engels was his prime benefactor for a number of years. During their early years in London, beginning in 1849, the Marx family was nearly destitute, and it was only through the generosity of Engels that they prevailed. Engels was also responsible for the publication of Marx's Das Kapital. Before his death, Marx was only able to complete the first volume of this work, and so Engels edited and arranged for the publication of the last two volumes after Marx's death. Engels was an engaging and thoughtful writer. It was perhaps his great fortune and misfortune that he was connected so closely to Marx. On the one hand, he was responsible for bringing much of Marx's work to fruition in his role as benefactor and editor. On the other hand, the shadow of Marx eclipsed some of the exposure that Engels's own ideas and contributions might have had. Engels died of throat cancer in London, 1895. Following cremation at Woking Crematorium, his ashes were scattered off Beachy Head, near Eastbourne as he had requested. (Bowker Author Biography) Friedrich Engels, German political economist, was born in what is now known as Wuppertal, in 1820. From 1842 to 1844 Engels worked in a textile mill in Manchester, England. During this time Engels theorized that all of the social unrest and worker discontent he encountered were the direct result of private ownership of property. He concluded that social ills could be eliminated only through a class struggle culminating in the end of private ownership and the establishment of a communistic form of government. The publication of his Condition of the Working Class (1844) reiterated his philosophy and his conclusions about an inevitable class struggle. Friedrich Engels first met Karl Marx in 1842. When they met again in Paris in 1844, the two men discovered they had a great similarity of views and decided to work together. They delineated the principles of communism, later known as Marxism, and their work resulted in the founding of an international communistic movement. The Communist Manifesto, penned by Marx, was based in part on a draft Engels prepared. It became renowned as the classic exposition of modern communism, and it had a profound influence upon all subsequent literature dealing with communism. Marx and Engels' partnership lasted until Marx's death in 1883. Engels carried on his work by editing the second and third volumes of Marx's Das Kapital. Friedrich Engels died in 1895. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Friedrich Engels (1820-1895)
1856 photograph
Series
Works by Friedrich Engels
The Great Books of the Western World, Vol. 50: Capital; and, The Communist Manifesto (1848) 334 copies
Communist Manifesto ; Wages, Price and Profit ; Capital [Selections] ; Socialism, Utopian and Scientific (2004) — Author — 121 copies
The German revolutions: The Peasant War in Germany, and Germany: revolution and counter-revolution (1967) — Author — 72 copies
Collected Works of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, 1845-47, Vol. 5: Theses on Feuerbach, The German Ideology and… (1976) 52 copies
Karl Marx, 1835-43: The Early Writings of Marx Including His Doctoral Dissertation, Articles from the Rheinische… (1975) 43 copies
Collected Works of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, 1843-44, Vol. 3: By Marx and Engels, Including "Critique of Hegel's… (1975) 36 copies
Collected Works of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, 1844-45, Vol. 4: The Holy Family, The Condition of the Working Class… (1553) 34 copies
Collected Works of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, 1838-42, Vol. 2: The Early Writings of Engels, Including Poems and… (1975) 31 copies
The Communist Manifesto; The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844; Socialism: Utopian and Scientific (2014) 22 copies
Selected works in two volumes 20 copies
Karl Marx, Frederick Engels: Marx and Engels Collected Works 1870-71 (Karl Marx, Frederick Engels: Collected Works) (1987) 18 copies
Karl Marx, Frederick Engels: Marx and Engels Collected Works 1858-60 (Karl Marx, Frederick Engels: Collected Works) (1980) 18 copies
Karl Marx - Friedrich Engels. Studienausgabe in 5 Bänden: Geschichte und Politik 1: Studienausgabe in 5 Bänden, Band… (1966) 18 copies
Karl Marx, Frederick Engels: Marx and Engels Collected Works 1871-1874 (Karl Marx, Frederick Engels: Collected Works) (1988) 14 copies
Collected Works: Karl Marx : Capital, Vol. 36 (Karl Marx, Frederick Engels: Collected Works) (1997) 13 copies
Collected Works 1856-1859: Marx and Engels (Karl Marx, Frederick Engels: Collected Works) (1983) 10 copies
Essential Writings of Friedrich Engels: Socialism, Utopian and Scientific; The Principles of Communism; And Others (2011) 9 copies
Marx och Engels till vardags 7 copies
Marx and Engels on the Means of Communication: A Selection of Texts. Ed by Y. De LA Haye (1980) 7 copies
The Russian menace to Europe: A collection of articles, speeches, letters, and news dispatches (1952) 6 copies
Introducción a la dialéctica de la naturaleza. El papel del trabajo en la transformación del mono en hombre (1974) 5 copies
De beginselen van het communisme 5 copies
The Communist Manifesto, Principles of Communism, The Communist Manifesto After 100 Years (1964) 5 copies
Karl Marx, Frederick Engles: Collected Works (Karl Marx, Frederick Engels: Collected Works) (2001) 5 copies
Marxismo e anarchismo 5 copies
Das Kommunistische Manifest. Die verspätete Aktualität des Kommunistischen Manifests (2018) 5 copies
Anti-Schelling 4 copies
Works of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Includes Capital (Das Kapital), Communist Manifesto, Eighteenth Brumaire of… (2008) — Author — 4 copies
El origen de la familia, de la propiedad / The Origin of the Family and Property: Del Solialismo Utopico Al Socialismo… (1901) 4 copies
On Authority 4 copies
Der deutsch-französische Krieg 1870/71 - Sechzig Artikel aus der "Pall Mall Gazette" (1996) 3 copies
Correspondence, Vol. 3: 1891-1895 3 copies
La révolution démocratique bourgeoise en Allemagne : la guerre des paysans, la campagne pour la constitution du… (1951) 2 copies
Engels as military critic: Articles reprinted from the " Volunteer Journal " and the " Manchester Guardian " of the… (1959) 2 copies
Correspondence 2 copies
Sobre literatura e arte 2 copies
Textos 2 copies
Den tyske bondekrig 2 copies
Contricuciòn Al Problema De La Vivienda De Las Grandes Ciudades: precedido de Las grandes ciudades: 5 (De lo social) (2020) 2 copies
Temas militares 1 copy
A DIALETICA DA NATUREZA 1 copy
L'origine della famiglia 1 copy
Ecrits de jeunesse : Tome 1 1 copy
Crítica do Direito 1 copy
Historical Materialism 1 copy
Ludwig Feuerbach and the outcome of classical German philosophy, with an appendix of other material of Marx and Engels… (1900) 1 copy
Socialism 1 copy
La genesis del "antidühring" 1 copy
Economia Política 1 copy
Az ifjú Engels levelei 1 copy
Socialismens udvikling 1 copy
Selected Letters 1 copy
Le Parti de classe 1 copy
Die irische Einwanderung 1 copy
Die Briefe von Friedrich Engels an Eduard Bernstein; mit Briefen von Karl Kautsky an Ebendenselben 1 copy
A Ideologia Alemã I 1 copy
A Ideologia Alemã II 1 copy
The Revolutionary act 1 copy
Correspondance 1 copy
Dialettica della famiglia. Genesi, struttura e dinamica di un'istituzione repressiva (1974) — Contributor — 1 copy
Auf Reisen 1 copy
Sanat ve Edebiyat Uzerine 1 copy
1: 1868-1886 1 copy
℗L'℗origine de la famille, de la proprie te prive e et de l'Etat: Sur l'histoire des anciens Germains: L'e poque… (2020) 1 copy
Kleine ökonomische Schriften 1 copy
Deutsche Zustände 1 copy
Kan Europa ontwapenen? 1 copy
Del socialismo utópico al socialismo cientifico ; Ludwig Feuerbach y el fin de la filosofia clásica… 1 copy
Crítica do Direito 1 1 copy
Jako Robinson nemůžeme žít 1 copy
Associated Works
Capital: A Critique of Political Economy, volume I: The Process of Capitalist Production (1867) — Editor — 2,787 copies
Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Business Ethics and Society (1990) — Contributor, some editions — 72 copies
Voices of the Industrial Revolution: Selected Readings from the Liberal Economists and Their Critics (1961) — Contributor — 42 copies
The Classics of Marxism, Volume Two: Marx, Engels, Lenin and Trotsky (2015) — Contributor — 9 copies
The Revolutionary Philosophy of Marxism: Selected Writings on Dialectical Materialism (2018) — Contributor — 4 copies
Lettere a Engels 2 copies
Dialectical Materialism: An Introduction to Marxist Philosophy — Contributor — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Other names
- Oswald, Friedrich
- Birthdate
- 1820-11-28
- Date of death
- 1895-08-05
- Burial location
- ashes scattered off Beachy Head. Sussex, UK
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- Prussia
- Country (for map)
- Germany
- Birthplace
- Barmen, Prussia
- Place of death
- London, England, UK
- Cause of death
- laryngeal cancer
- Places of residence
- Bremen, Germany
Berlin, Germany
Manchester, England, UK
Paris, France
Brussels, Belgium
Cologne, Germany - Occupations
- Soldier
Journalist
Office Clerk
Mill Owner
Historian
Economist (show all 7)
Philosopher - Relationships
- Marx, Karl (colleague)
Burns, Mary (partner)
Bruns, Lydia (wife) - Organizations
- Prussian Army
Communist League
Members
Discussions
Group read: The Communist Manifesto (1848) in One Book One Thread (June 2021)
Reviews
The Communist Manifesto (Penguin Classics) by Karl Marx
reread. great obviously
One of the founding documents of possibly the single most substantial political movement of modern times, THE COMMUNIST MANIFESTO lays out in relatively simple terms what the philosophy stands for, at least in its pure form. It expresses the desire, at its essence, I believe, to obliterate selfishness as a political force and to eliminate greed as an effective obstacle to man's happiness. That it has not succeeded in doing so despite its successes as a political game plan is perhaps more a factor of the nature of man than a fault in the concept. Despite the idealism that seems to have been at its roots, communism seems doomed to failure in its ostensible hope of achieving idealistic results. But it is hard not to agree that many of the evils of a class-divided society need addressing. Far too many people know far too little about the philosophy of communism and make their opposition (and perhaps even their support) based on misunderstanding and lack of information. A quick study of this slight book which shook the world would go far in creating an informed response to the philosophy it propounds.… (more)
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