Karl Marx

Born in Trier in 1818, he studied law and philosophy before turning to journalism and political writing. After clashes with censorship and political authorities, he lived in exile in Paris, Brussels, and then London, where much of his major work was written.

He worked closely with Friedrich Engels, and together they wrote The Communist Manifesto in 1848. Marx later spent years researching political economy in the British Museum, a long effort that led to Das Kapital, his most famous critique of capitalism.

Though he died in London in 1883, his ideas had an enormous afterlife. Admired by some and fiercely criticized by others, he remains one of the most influential and controversial thinkers of the modern era.