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Friedrich's Early Years
Friedrich Engels was born on November 28, 1820, in Barmen, Prussia (Germany). Engels came from a well off family. His father owned a textile mill and was also a partner in a cotton factory in Manchester, England. Friedrich was taken out of school, during his "highschool years", to learn about the family business in 1838-1841. -
Finding Clarity
During his time working at the mill, Friedrich became a very well rounded man. He got himself involved in many activities such as fencing, riding, and becoming an expert swimmer. He also started to dive into reading about philosophers, but soon put all of his focus on G.W.F Hegel and the "Young Hegelians". Engels started to adopt the idea to question everything, which in turned ended with him renouncing his Christianity and becoming an atheist. -
Finding His Way
Engles found his passion for writing and started to publish his point of views through journalism, under the name Friedrich Oswald. Many think it was to save his family the grief of people associating his views with his good Christian family. His love for writing got put on hold when in 1841 he volunteered in the artillery regiment in Berlin. Through his military efforts, Engles got entry to the Young Helgian of the Free, a group that discussed philosophy. Here is where he would meet Karl Marx. -
The Seed of Communism
In 1842, Engles was discharged from service where he soon met Moses Hess who showed him the way and views of communism. Engels and Mess became very close and Mess placed the idea that textile mills would be a huge part in the changing of England's future. So, Engels moved to England where his father's cotton textile mill is, to begin learning more about the business. By day a businessman but by night a radical writer about communism and the conditions in England. -
Engels and Marx Partnership
In 1844 Engels had Marx edit two articles that Engels submitted to the "German-French Yearbook". These articles attacked the idea of private property and that it was only to feed the rich while sinking the poor. Engels went to Paris to fortify his partnership with Marx, where they created their first real article together called "The German Ideology". It talked about how the German socialist where ignoring the fact that Germany was in dire need for a revolution. -
The Communist League
In 1845, Engels supported everything that Marx had pushed out to pursue his communist agenda. During this time, they spread their views trying to reach the highest ears that they can to turn their views into Engels and Marx's views as well as getting their support. Their first attempt to make some big changes was in London 1847, where the League of the Just, held its first congressional hearing. -
The Revolutions of 1848
This was Engels and Marx's chance to make a communist nation and to influence the minds of everyone they could. They did this by using the German newspapers to send out the communist ideals. This was the climax event, where they could influence the most and maybe turn the tides for England and Germany into communist utopia. Unfortunately for them, they did not succeed. Engels himself almost going bankrupt. Engels decided to focus on his business so that him and Marx could continue writing. -
Their Final Years
After the revolution, Engels supported Marx financially so that they could continue with working and influences through their society. During this time Marx wrote his best piece "Das Kapital" where he relied on Engels again to get the word out about it. This went on for years until they death of Marx in 1883. Together they wrote a variety of works on communism and German philosophy. Their works are held high in many communist nations, mainly Russia. He then died on Aug 5 1895, in London England.
