Robert Owen | Notable Biographies

(1771/05/14 - 17/11/1858)

Robert Owen
British politician

He was born on May 14, 1771 in Newtown (Wales).
With nine years he started working as Apprentice of spinner and 1920s was director of a factory of tissues in Manchester.
Acquired shares of the factory textiles from New Lanark (Scotland). In 1799 he married the daughter of the owner.
The factory got international fame thanks to the experiment conducted, consisting of improving the conditions of workers and achieve an increase in productivity and profits at the same time. In 1823, he proposed to remedy the misery in Ireland through the formation of Communist colonies, and carried out a complete estimate of the costs of founding them, the annual expenditure of the same, and the expected performance.
In 1825 bought 8.100 has of land in Indiana and founded the Community of New Harmony. However the population who had voluntarily joined the project soon lose the initial enthusiasm. He also noted as a writer. His work book of the new moral order (1826-1844) contains the most complete formulation of its doctrine.
In 1833 he took part in the Foundation of the first British Trade Union, which failed shortly afterwards. Thanks to his ideas appeared the international cooperative movement, which began to operate in Rochdale (England) in 1844.
Robert Owen died on November 17, 1858 in Newtown.