Karl Marx/Timelines

1818

Born of middle-class Jewish parents in the Prussian city of Trier.

1835

Enrols in the University of Berlin, reading law, history and philosophy. Becomes a Hegelian idealist.

1841

Graduates with a doctorate in philosophy.

1842

Is influenced by the humanist philosophy of Ludwig Feuerbach.

1843

Marries Jenny von Westphalen. Moves to Paris. Writes Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right[1]

1844

Meets Friedrich Engels. Writes The Paris Manuscripts[2], setting out his conception of communism and his proposal for the "dictatorship of the proletariat".

1845

Is expelled from France and moves to Brussels. Writes Theses on Feuerbach[3]

1847

Launch of the Communist League (formerly the "League of the Just") with the motto "Workers of the World Unite!"

Writes The Poverty of Philosophy[4].

1848

French revolution of 1848

Returns to France. Starts writing political pamphlets on The class struggles in France[5]. Publishes the Communist Manifesto[6] (written jointly with Engels)

1849

Moves to Cologne. Writes articles in the "Neue Rheinische Zeitung"[7] Moves to London.

1850

Writes (with Engels) the Address to the Communist League[8].

1852

Writes The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte[9].

1864

Supports the launch of the International Workingmen’s Association (the first International)

1867

Publication of Das Kapital[10]

1869

Writes A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy[11].

1875

Writes Critique of the Gotha Programme[12], in which he coins the slogan "from each according to his ability, to each according to his need".

1883

Death and burial in London's Highgate Cemetery.