Ferdinand Lassalle

German jurist and socialist (1825–1864)

Ferdinand Lassalle (11 April 1825 — 31 August 1864) was a German jurist and socialist politician.

Ferdinand Lassalle
(1825–64)
Born
Ferdinand Johann Gottlieb Lassal

(1825-04-11)11 April 1825
Died31 August 1864(1864-08-31) (aged 39)
NationalityGermany
Era19th-century philosophy
RegionWestern philosophy, German philosophy
SchoolSocial Democracy
Main interests
Politics, economics, philosophy, history

Lassalle was born in Breslau. His father sent him to a business school in Leipzig. Lassalle changed to the University of Breslau. He later studied in Berlin. He studied Philosophy, Philology (Latin and Ancient Greek) and Law.

Lassalle took part in the revolutions of 1848-49. He was put into prison and later banned from Berlin. He lived in Düsseldorf that time. In 1859, Lassalle returned to Berlin.

Lassalle was a liberal politician in the early 1860s. The liberals had some struggles with Otto von Bismarck. Lassalle thought about the living conditions of the working class. He found that the idea of self-help would not help the working class people. This led him to become a member of the Communist league. There he was in opposition to Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.

Lassalle founded the Allgemeiner Deutscher Arbeiterverein (General German Workers' Association, ADAV) in 1863. This party later became the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).

Lassalle was killed in a duel.