Amber Lemke, Ana Beyak, Curtis Drummond and Keegan Plowman

Robert Owen was born in Newtown, Montgomeryshire, Wales. For most of his life he was single and looking but he later fell in love with Caroline Dale. He was a manager and part owner of cotton mills in Manchester. He was also the founder of infant child care in Great Britain. He enjoyed long walks on the beach and iced lemonade. He was a social reformer, one of the founders of socialism and the cooperative movement. In 1835 he formed the “Association of all Classes of all Nations.” May 14th, 1771– November 17th, 1858

He had socialist ideologies. Socialism is any ideology that contains the belief that resources should be controlled by the public for the benefit of everyone in society and not by private interests for the benefit of private owners and investors. Owens general theory was that character is formed by the effects of the environment upon the individual. This means that education was very important to the formation of a rational personality. He believed that man, being naturally good, could develop in the absence of evil. His denunciation of religion provoked a campaign which damaged his public reputation and the reputation of his work. Owen was convinced that the world of competitive capitalism had reached a stage of crisis and that the leaders of society should turn to him.

"What ideas individuals may attach to the term "Millennium" I know not; but I know that society may be formed so as to exist without crime, without poverty, with health greatly improved, with little, if any misery, and with intelligence and happiness increased a hundredfold; and no obstacle whatsoever intervenes at this moment except ignorance to prevent such a state of society from becoming universal". This was part of his speech he used to open the Institute for the Formation of Character where he outlined his visionary plans for an enlightened system of education which he believed was the key to universal harmony.