1818 A political theorist and reformer ("The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point is, to change it."), Marx was born the third child of Heinrich and Henrietta Marx in Trier, Germany.

1835 Marx goes to study law at University of Bonn; he spent much of his time drinking or writing love letters to Jenny von Westphalen, his then fiancée. Marx transfers to the University of Berlin at the insistence of his father, and becomes more serious about his studies. Here he began preparing for a career as a philosophy professor, and wrote a dissertation contrasting Democritus and Epicurus, two ancient materialists, and became familiar with the philosophy of the young Hegelians.

1841 The dissertation is accepted by the University of Jena, and Marx receives his doctorate in philosophy. Yet he finds it impossible to obtain a post, probably due to his leftist politics.

1842 Marx takes a position as editor of the Rheinische Zeitung (Rhenish Gazette), a liberal, middle-class newspaper. However, the paper is supressed by the government after Marx writes an article on the poverty of the Mosel winemakers. Marx moves to Paris to become coeditor of the Deutsch-Französische Jahrbücher (German-French Annals) and marries Jenny (1843). In Paris, Marx’s dissatisfaction with Left-Wing Hegelianism intensifies as he becomes more involved with the Socialist movement. However, the Deutsch-Französische Jahrbücher quickly closes, leaving Marx unemployed. He receives a sizeable settlement from the Rheinische Zeitung and lives comfortably for a time, writing extensively on economic and political matters.

1844 The period of friendship and collaboration with Friedrich Engels (1820-1895) begins.

1845 Marx and Engels publish The Holy Family. Marx is expelled from France because of political activism. Moves to Brussels.

1846 The German Ideology is published.

1847 The Poverty of Philosophy is published. Marx and Engels attend the congress of the Communist League, where both are commissioned to produce a pamphlet outlining the league’s doctrines, which became the Manifesto of the Communist Party (1848)

1849 After another attempt to edit an opposition newspaper in Cologne, Marx returns to France but is expelled again. He settles in London. Two decades of poverty and hardship follow due to lack of income and financial mismanagement. Marx works on and off for The New York Tribune, but mostly survives on gifts from Engels. He spends much of his time researching at the British Museum for his books, Critique of Political Economy (1859) and began publishing his magnum opus, Das Kapital (volume I in 1867). He was the leader of International Working Men’s Association until he dismantled the organization in 1872.

1883 Marx dies of bronchitis in London.