Émile Durkheim

Born in France in 1858, he became one of the key figures in the development of sociology as an academic field. He taught at Bordeaux and later at the University of Paris, and his work focused on big questions about social order, morality, religion, education, and the forces that shape everyday life.

His best-known books include The Division of Labour in Society, The Rules of Sociological Method, Suicide, and The Elementary Forms of Religious Life. Across these works, he argued that social life has patterns and pressures of its own, and that ideas, rituals, and institutions help bind people together.

He died in 1917, but his influence has lasted far beyond his own time. Readers still turn to his writing for its clear attempt to explain how communities function, how modern life can create isolation, and why society is more than just a collection of individuals.