Friedrich Engels Timeline

(November 28, 1820 – August 5, 1895)

Friedrich Engels (1820–1895) was a German philosopher, historian, and social scientist best known for co-developing Marxist theory alongside Karl Marx. Born into a wealthy textile family in Barmen, Prussia, he became a critic of industrial capitalism through works like The Condition of the Working Class in England. His lifelong partnership with Marx produced foundational texts such as The Communist Manifesto (1848) and Das Kapital, which he completed after Marx's death. More Less

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Early Life

Birth of Friedrich Engels in Barmen, Prussia

Nov 28, 1820

Friedrich Engels was born on November 28, 1820, in Barmen (now part of Wuppertal), Prussia. He was the eldest son of a wealthy textile manufacturer, and his upbringing in a devoutly religious and conservative household would later contrast sharply with his radical political views.

Image source: Friedrich Engels

Engels attends gymnasium in Elberfeld

1834 - 1837

Engels attended the gymnasium in nearby Elberfeld, where he excelled in languages, literature, and history. His father, however, wanted him to pursue a commercial career and forced him to leave school at age 17 before completing his studies.

Works as commercial apprentice in Bremen

1838 - 1841

Engels was sent to Bremen to work as a commercial apprentice in his father's business connections. During this period, he began writing under the pseudonym 'Friedrich Oswald' for liberal publications, developing his literary skills and questioning his religious upbringing.

Publishes articles under pen name Friedrich Oswald

1840 - 1841

While in Bremen, Engels published letters and essays critiquing social conditions and religion under the pseudonym Friedrich Oswald, marking his emergence as a young writer with critical and progressive views.

Military service in Berlin and attendance at university lectures

1841 - 1842

Engels served a year of compulsory military service in the Prussian artillery in Berlin. While there, he attended philosophy lectures at the University of Berlin and became involved with the Young Hegelians, embracing radical philosophical ideas that shaped his intellectual development.

Meets Mary Burns, lifelong companion

1843

In Manchester, Engels met Mary Burns, an Irish working-class woman who became his lifelong companion. Through her, he gained deep insight into the lives of Irish workers and the urban poor of industrial England, informing his later writings.

Death of Mary Burns

Jan 1863

Mary Burns died suddenly at age 41, devastating Engels. Her death briefly strained his friendship with Marx, who responded coolly to the news, though the two quickly reconciled and remained close collaborators.

Political Development

Moves to Manchester to work in family's cotton firm

Dec 1842

Engels was sent by his father to Manchester, England, to work at Ermen & Engels, a cotton mill partly owned by his family. There he witnessed firsthand the brutal conditions of the Industrial Revolution, which profoundly influenced his thinking about capitalism.

Joins Communist League

Jun 1847

Engels joined the League of the Just, which soon reorganized as the Communist League. He helped draft its principles, contributing an early version of what would become the Communist Manifesto, titled 'Principles of Communism.'

Image source: Communist League

Participates in German revolutions of 1848–49

May 1848 - Jul 1849

During the wave of European revolutions, Engels returned to Germany and worked as editor of the Rheinische Zeitung alongside Marx. When revolution broke out, he took part in armed uprisings in Baden and the Palatinate as an aide-de-camp to August Willich.

Flees to Switzerland after failed revolution

Jul 1849

After the suppression of revolutionary forces in Baden, Engels escaped across the border into Switzerland, joining many other defeated radicals who fled repression following the collapse of the 1848 revolutions.

Image source: Revolutions of 1848

Founding member of First International

Sep 28, 1864

Engels supported the founding of the International Workingmen's Association (the First International) in London, an organization uniting socialist and labor groups across Europe, which became a vehicle for spreading Marxist ideas.

Image source: International Workingmen's Association

Guides Second International

Jul 1889 - 1895

Engels served as mentor and advisor to the newly formed Second International, guiding socialist parties across Europe. Though he declined formal leadership roles, his counsel shaped the movement's direction in its early years.

Image source: Second International

Major Works

Publishes 'Outlines of a Critique of Political Economy'

1844

Engels published his first major economic critique in Karl Marx's journal Deutsch-Französische Jahrbücher. This work analyzed the contradictions of capitalist economics and impressed Marx deeply, laying the groundwork for their future collaboration.

Image source: Critique of political economy

Writes 'The Holy Family' with Marx

Feb 1845

Engels co-authored 'The Holy Family' with Marx, a critique of the Young Hegelians Bruno and Edgar Bauer. It was their first joint work, signaling the beginning of their shared development of historical materialism.

Image source: The Holy Family (book)

Publishes 'The Condition of the Working Class in England'

May 1845

Drawing on his observations in Manchester, Engels documented the horrific living and working conditions of English factory workers. The book exposed the human costs of industrial capitalism and established Engels as a serious social critic.

Image source: The Condition of the Working Class in England

Co-writes 'The German Ideology' with Marx

1846

Engels and Marx wrote 'The German Ideology' while in Brussels, articulating for the first time their theory of historical materialism—the idea that material economic conditions shape society, culture, and consciousness.

Image source: The German Ideology

Co-authors 'The Communist Manifesto'

Feb 21, 1848

Marx and Engels published 'The Communist Manifesto,' a revolutionary pamphlet calling for workers to unite against capitalist oppression. Its famous opening line, 'A spectre is haunting Europe,' announced a new era of organized socialist thought.

Image source: The Communist Manifesto

Publishes 'Anti-Dühring'

1878

Engels published 'Herr Eugen Dühring's Revolution in Science,' known as Anti-Dühring, a comprehensive defense and exposition of Marxist theory against philosopher Eugen Dühring. It became one of the most influential popularizations of Marxism.

Image source: Anti-Dühring

Publishes 'Socialism: Utopian and Scientific'

1880

Extracted from Anti-Dühring, this concise work distinguished scientific socialism from earlier utopian thinkers like Saint-Simon, Fourier, and Owen. It became one of the most widely read introductions to Marxism worldwide.

Image source: Socialism: Utopian and Scientific

Publishes 'Socialism: Utopian and Scientific'

Publishes 'The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State'

1884

Engels applied historical materialism to anthropology, arguing that the family structure evolved alongside changes in property relations. Building on Lewis Morgan's research, it became foundational for Marxist feminism.

Image source: The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State

Publishes 'The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State'

Completes volumes 2 and 3 of Das Kapital

1885 - 1894

After Marx's death, Engels painstakingly edited Marx's unfinished manuscripts and published Volume II of Das Kapital in 1885 and Volume III in 1894, ensuring that Marx's economic analysis reached the world.

Image source: Das Kapital

Collaboration with Marx

First meeting with Karl Marx in Paris

Aug 28, 1844

Engels met Karl Marx in Paris at Café de la Régence, beginning one of the most consequential intellectual partnerships in history. They discovered they held nearly identical views on philosophy and politics, forging a friendship that would last until Marx's death.

Supports Marx through death of wife Jenny von Westphalen

Dec 1881

When Marx's beloved wife Jenny died after a long illness, Engels provided steadfast emotional and practical support to Marx during this profound personal loss.

Image source: Jenny von Westphalen

Death of Karl Marx

Mar 14, 1883

Karl Marx died peacefully in his armchair in London. Engels delivered a moving graveside eulogy at Highgate Cemetery, declaring that just as Darwin had discovered the law of organic nature, Marx had discovered the law of human history.

Image source: Karl Marx

Later Life and Legacy

Returns to Manchester to support Marx financially

1850 - 1870

Engels reluctantly returned to work at his family's firm in Manchester for two decades, enduring a job he despised in order to financially support Marx and his family, enabling Marx to dedicate himself to writing Das Kapital.

Becomes partner at Ermen & Engels

1864

Engels became a full partner in the Manchester cotton mill Ermen & Engels, increasing his income substantially. This wealth allowed him to provide even greater financial support to Marx during difficult years.

Image source: Baumwollspinnerei Ermen & Engels

Retires from business and moves to London

Jul 1870

Having sold his share of the firm, Engels retired from business and moved to London, near Marx's home. Freed from commercial obligations, he devoted himself fully to revolutionary theory and political organizing.

Death of Friedrich Engels in London

Aug 5, 1895

Engels died of throat and stomach cancer at his home in London on August 5, 1895, aged 74. Following his wishes, his ashes were scattered off Beachy Head into the English Channel.

Posthumous publication of 'Dialectics of Nature'

1925

Long after his death, Engels' unpublished manuscripts applying dialectical reasoning to natural science were compiled and published as 'Dialectics of Nature,' extending his influence into the philosophy of science.

Image source: Dialectics of Nature

Key Facts

Friedrich Engels was born on November 28, 1820, in Barmen, Prussia (now Wuppertal, Germany), to a wealthy textile manufacturer's family.
His firsthand observations of industrial Manchester, England, led to his influential 1845 work, The Condition of the Working Class in England.
In 1848, Engels co-authored The Communist Manifesto with Karl Marx, one of the most influential political documents in history.
Engels financially supported Karl Marx for decades while working at his family's cotton firm in Manchester, enabling Marx to write Das Kapital.
After Marx died in 1883, Engels edited and published volumes two and three of Das Kapital and wrote influential works such as Anti-Dühring and Dialectics of Nature.

Source

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