This year is the 150th anniversary of the death of Robert Owen (1771-1858), social reformer and philanthropist. His father was a sadler and ironmonger who also served as local postmaster; his mother came from one of the prosperous farming families of Newtown. He wanted his workers and their families to be treated well. Try to treat the bourgeoisie better than the proletariat. Worker challenges to the Industrial Revolution: The Luddites. Robert Owen used social methods to improve American life. Robert and Caroline set up home in New Lanark on the 1st January 1800 and went on to have seven children: Robert Dale (1801), William (1802), Anne Caroline (1805), Jane Dale (1805), David Dale (1807), Richard Dale (1809), and Mary (1810). Further Reading on Robert Owen. Born May 14, 1771. Although if I were to pick one of these three to improve the industrial world I would pick, Socialism. 8. 1771: Robert Owen is born in Newtown, Montgomeryshire, in North Wales. Robert Owen and the ... which became renowned throughout Britain for its conditions of work. He concluded that long hours and grim working and living conditions turned workers in to brutes. To improve the lives of the workers. Owen set out to improve them. 10. Robert Owen, the son of Robert Owen a saddler and ironmonger from Newtown in Wales, was born on 14th May, 1771. He also worked to improve safety, wages, shorten the work day, and give kids a easier time in the labor field by enforcing a schooling system for … Robert Owen: early communist. New Lanark Mill before Robert Owen instigated his education system had practically no education system, as by the time their education took place they were had already worked a 13 and a half hour day and so were falling asleep. Robert Owen, 1771-1858: Robert Owen was born in Newtown, Montgomeryshire (Wales) on May 14, 1771, the sixth of seven children. There were once over 400 planned settlements in Britain. Robert Owen. Robert Owen - Robert Owen - The community at New Harmony: Owen’s plans for the cure of pauperism were received with considerable favour until he declared his hostility to religion as an obstacle to progress. One of the most renowned model village, Port Sunlight, was built by William Hesketh Lever of Lever Brothers to accommodate workers of his soap factory. In January 1800, Owen became the manager of New Lanark Mill after he and his partners bought it from David Dale. Many of Owen’s supporters believed that this action made him suspect to the upper classes, though he did not lose all support from them. Thoreau believed government to be mainly concerned with business, claiming “…a hundred thousand merchants and farmers here, who are more interested in commerce and agriculture than they are in humanity,…are not prepared to do justice to the slave in Mexico, cost what it may”. 5. He also arranged for a company store that sold goods of higher quality and at lower prices than the stores that had previously been available in the area. Facts about Robert Owen 9: manager of New Lanark Mill. 7. Government. 6. He was a successful textile mill owner who was as much concerned—or maybe even more—about the quality of life his employees and the community members led than the profits he made. A very practical man, he concentrated on the means to the end. Robert Owen did not support demoralizing conditions for factory workers in benefit of profit. In 1799, Owen and his businessmen bought the New Lanark textile mills in Scotland. He instated a minimum work age, reduced the number of hours anyone could work, and improved education for all. Robert Owen, Britain’s first ... the partnership bought the extensive cotton mills and workers’ village at New Lanark, with Owen as manager. Robert Owen introduced a yet more humane and progressive employment regime in New Lanark, Scotland where he and others had bought the mills of David Dale. He prohibited children under 10 from working and provided schooling. Robert Owen has been called the 'father of English Socialism'. He built houses near his mill and rented them at low costs.