Who is Robert Owen?

Robert Owen was born a Welshman, lived for a quarter century in Scotland, and had a profound effect on English society. Although a man of humble beginnings, he accumulated great wealth during the Industrial Revolution as a leading cotton spinner of his day. Not content with a life of ease and luxury, Owen became one of the world's great social innovators, dedicated to the single purpose of changing society by remaking the character of the human race. He remained true to his purpose until he died in 1858 in Newtown, Wales, the place of his birth.

Interestingly, Robert Owen had a significant influence on the history of the United States. He founded a commune at New Harmony, Indiana, and his son, Robert Dale Owen, became an American citizen and served in the United States Congress. The son was one of the driving forces behind the Smithsonian Institution, although differences with Joseph Henry, the first Secretary of the Institution and a man Robert Dale had supported for his position, caused him to be denied recognition as one of the Institution's founders. Like his father, Robert Dale Owen was an educational innovator, among other things, yet he too goes unrecognized for his many accomplishments.

Robert Owen as a young man, from a
colour pastel drawing by Mary Ann Knight, c. 1799.