Engels, Friedrich, << EHNG uhls, FREE drihkh >> (1820-1895), was a German social scientist, journalist, and professional revolutionary. He is known chiefly for his long and close collaboration with Karl Marx, the founder of revolutionary Communism. Engels made important contributions to Marxist theory, of which the most important was his introduction of Marx to the study of economics. Marx’s knowledge of military and political affairs also came largely from Engels. See Marx, Karl.
Engels and Marx wrote many books together. The most famous is the Communist Manifesto (1848), of which Engels wrote the first draft. He edited the second and third volumes of Marx’s influential book Das Kapital and wrote several articles published under Marx’s name.
Engels outlived Marx by 12 years and developed some of their joint ideas in directions of his own. He was largely responsible for the Marxist preoccupation with the scientific method and the application of Marxist views to all areas of knowledge. Some scholars believe that in his philosophic writings, Engels showed a misunderstanding of his friend’s ideas.
Engels was born on Nov. 28, 1820, in Barmen, Prussia, the son of a textile manufacturer. Hunted by the police because of his revolutionary activities, he fled from Prussia in 1844. He returned during the revolution of 1848 but fled again after the revolution collapsed. He then settled in England, where he managed one of his father’s factories. He earned enough to support Marx and his family.
Engels was well read in many languages and on a wide variety of topics. He was a keen observer with a creative mind, and some scholars believe that many of his works were far ahead of his time. He wrote on such diverse topics as religious history, anthropology, foreign affairs, the life of the working class, and especially military technology, his favorite subject. The Condition of the Working Class in England (1844) is a pioneering description of life in English working-class slums. Herr Eugen Duhring’s Revolution in Science (1878), which is a popular presentation of Marxist theory, became the textbook for generations of Socialists and Communists. Other works by Engels dealt with German radical philosophy and the German revolution of 1848 and 1849. He died on Aug. 5, 1895.
