Karl Marx Biography and Works.

A Philosopher, social scientist, historian and revolutionary, Karl Marx, is without a doubt the most influential socialist thinker to emerge in the 19th century. Born on May 5, 1818, Karl Marx developed the socio-political theory of Marxism.

Karl Heinrich Marx was born into a comfortable middle-class family in Trier on the river Moselle in Germany. At the age of 17, Marx enrolled in the Faculty of Law at the University of Bonn. Then, he went to the University of Berlin.

In 1836, he got engaged to Jenny von Westphalen and married her in 1843. Marx moved into journalism after his studies and in October 1842, became editor of the influential Rheinische Zeitung, which was a liberal newspaper backed by industrialists. The Prusssian government closed the paper due to his articles.

Moving to Paris in 1843, Karl Marx began writing for other radical newspapers including the Deutsch-Französische Jahrbücher and Vorwärts. He also wrote a series of books, several of which were co-written with his fellow German revolutionary socialist, Friedrich Engels. His most notable books were The Communist Manifesto and Capital.

After Marx was expelled from Paris at the end of 1844, he moved to Brussels. Marx became a communist and set down his views in his writings known as the Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts in 1844, which remained unpublished until the 1930s.

His other major contributions were The German Ideology, The Communist Manifests, The Class Struggles in France and The 18th Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte.

Marx died on March 14, 1883 after prolonged illness.

Trivia

He was not a very well-known figure during his life, but his works became popular soon after his death.