Karl Marx

Karl Marx studied law and philosophy, and was initially influenced by the works of G. W. F. Hegel. Marx rejected the idealism of Hegel and developed a more materialistic theory of history as science, ultimately predicting that the triumph of the working class was inevitable. With his collaborator Friedrich Engels, Marx published the Communist Manifesto in 1848. Exiled from Europe, Marx lived in London, England and earned money through contributions to various newspapers, including the New York Tribune. Marx devoted the last decades of his life to working on Das Kapital, and was active in early communist organizations. His work greatly influenced modern socialism, and he is considered one of the founders of economic history and sociology.

Extra credit: Marx's theories were put into action in Russia by revolutionary V.I. Lenin... Marx is no relation to comedian Groucho Marx.