Famous 19th Century Sociologists

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 1 
Max Weber
(Sociologist)
Max Weber
8
Birthdate: April 21, 1864
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Erfurt, Germany
Died: June 14, 1920

Max Weber was a German historian, political economist, jurist, and sociologist. Widely regarded as one of the most influential and important theorists, Weber's ideas had a profound influence on social research and social theory. Although he did not see himself as a sociologist, Weber is often counted among the fathers of sociology alongside Émile Durkheim, Auguste Comte, and Karl Marx.

 2 
Emile Durkheim
(French Sociologist Who Established the 'Academic Discipline of Sociology')
Emile Durkheim
12
Birthdate: April 15, 1858
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Épinal, France
Died: November 15, 1917

Emile Durkheim was a French sociologist. He is credited with establishing the discipline of sociology for academic purposes and is widely regarded as the chief architect of modern social science. During his lifetime, Emile Durkheim published several works on topics like morality, religion, and education. He also played a major role in the development of sociology and anthropology as disciplines.

 3 
Karl Marx
(Philosopher & Economist - Famous for His Theory of 'Marxism' )
Karl Marx
2
Birthdate: May 5, 1818
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Trier, Germany
Died: March 14, 1883

Karl Marx, the philosopher, economist, political theorist and socialist revolutionary, is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet, The Communist Manifesto and the three-volume Das Kapital. His theories, called Marxism, maintained that class conflict leads to the development of human societies and that internal tension were inherent in capitalism, which would ultimately be replaced by the socialist mode of production.

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 4 
Vilfredo Pareto
(Economist, Writer, Philosopher, Sociologist, University teacher)
Vilfredo Pareto
6
Birthdate: July 15, 1848
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Paris
Died: August 19, 1923

A qualified civil engineer, Vilfredo Pareto had initially worked for the railways and the ironworks. However, he gradually deviated to philosophy, sociology, and politics and gained fame for his application of math to economic issues and his introduction of Pareto efficiency. Mind and Society remains his best-known work.

 5 
Georg Simmel
(One of the First Generation of German Sociologists and Neo-Kantian Philosopher)
Georg Simmel
6
Birthdate: March 1, 1858
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Berlin, Germany
Died: September 26, 1918

Georg Simmel was a German sociologist, philosopher, and critic considered a forerunner to structuralist styles of reasoning in the social sciences. He was neo-Kantian in his approach and laid the foundations for sociological antipositivism. He broadly rejected academic standards and wrote extensively on the philosophy of Schopenhauer and Nietzsche. He was married to philosopher Gertrud Kinel and had one son. 

 6 
George Herbert Mead
(Philosopher)
George Herbert Mead
6
Birthdate: February 27, 1863
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: South Hadley, Massachusetts, United States
Died: April 26, 1931

American philosopher and social psychologist George Herbert Mead was one of the pioneers of pragmatism and symbolic interactionism. He taught at the University of Chicago, and his ideas later came to be known as the Chicago school of sociology. His notable lectures were published as books only after his death.

 7 
Harriet Martineau
(First Female Sociologist)
Harriet Martineau
7
Birthdate: June 12, 1802
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Norwich, Norfolk, England
Died: June 27, 1876

Regarded by many as the first female sociologist, Harriet Martineau was a prominent 19th-century social theorist, classical economist, and intellectual who penned the iconic work The Positive Philosophy of Auguste Comte. She was partially deaf and had lost her sense of taste and smell in childhood.

 8 
Peter Kropotkin
(Anarchist, Socialist & Historian)
Peter Kropotkin
4
Birthdate: December 9, 1842
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Moscow, Russia
Died: February 8, 1921

Russian philosopher Peter Kropotkin was a passionate advocate of anarcho-communism. He was also an activist, revolutionary, economist, and sociologist. He was arrested and imprisoned for his activism in 1874. However, he managed to escape and lived in exile for over 40 years in different countries across Europe. He returned to Russia after the Russian Revolution in 1917. 

 9 
Marcel Mauss
(French Sociologist and Anthropologist Best Known for His Work on Social Exchange and Gift-Giving)
Marcel Mauss
5
Birthdate: May 10, 1872
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Épinal, Vosges, France
Died: February 10, 1950

Sociologist and anthropologist Marcel Mauss is regarded as the Father of French Ethnology. Shunning his family business, he became influenced by his uncle, sociologist Émile Durkheim. His best-known work remains Essai sur le don, or The Gift. He also influenced Claude Lévi-Strauss, who founded structural anthropology.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman
8
Birthdate: July 3, 1860
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Hartford, Connecticut
Died: August 17, 1935

Charlotte Perkins Gilman was an American novelist, humanist, poet, and short-story writer. Best remembered as a utopian feminist, Gilman served as an inspiration for several generations of feminists. A National Women's Hall of Fame inductee, Charlotte Perkins Gilman is also remembered for her semi-autobiographical work, The Yellow Wallpaper.

 11 
Karl Polanyi
(Austro-Hungarian Economic Anthropologist, Economic Sociologist and Politician)
Karl Polanyi
5
Birthdate: October 25, 1886
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Vienna, Austria
Died: April 23, 1964

Apart from being a political economist, Karl Polanyi was also a prominent Hungarian political leader. The Great Transformation remains his best-known work. He taught at institutes such as the Columbia University and is known for proposing the idea of a cultural version of economics known as substantivism.

 12 
Gustave Le Bon
(French Polymath)
Gustave Le Bon
3
Birthdate: May 7, 1841
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Nogent-le-Rotrou, France
Died: December 13, 1931

French social psychologist Gustave Le Bon is best remembered for his research on crowd psychology. In his iconic work La psychologie des foules, or The Crowd, he stated that people are driven by their emotions and not by their intellect when they act as part of a crowd.

 13 
Ferdinand Tönnies
(One of the Founding Fathers of Classical German Sociology)
Ferdinand Tönnies
3
Birthdate: July 26, 1855
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Oldenswort, Germany
Died: April 9, 1936

Ferdinand Tönnies was a German economist, sociologist, and philosopher. He is credited with co-founding the German Society for Sociology where he served as the president from 1909 to 1933. Widely regarded as the first prominent German sociologist, Tönnies contributed significantly to field studies and sociological theory. Ferdinand Tönnies is often counted among the founders of classical German sociology. 

 14 
Gabriel Tarde
(French Sociologist, Criminologist and Social Psychologist Best Known for His Criminological Work and His Criticism of 'Durkheim')
Gabriel Tarde
2
Birthdate: March 12, 1843
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Sarlat-la-Canéda, France
Died: May 13, 1904

Sociologist and criminologist Gabriel Tarde is best remembered for his theory of social interaction. Initially a magistrate, he later taught modern philosophy. He is remembered for his ideas on imitation and his criticism of the concept of the atavistic criminal. He also penned a sci-fi novel.

 15 
Beatrice Webb
(British Sociologist, Economist, Socialist, Labour Historian and Social Reformer)
Beatrice Webb
0
Birthdate: January 22, 1858
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Gloucestershire, England
Died: April 30, 1943

Sociologist Beatrice Webb is best remembered for coining the term collective bargaining. Along with her husband, Sidney Webb, whom she met at the Fabian Society, and others, Beatrice co-founded the London School of Economics. In spite of her lack of formal education, she was a prominent educator and an avid diarist.

 16 
Lester Frank Ward
(American Paleontologist, Botanist, and Sociologist Who Promoted Bringing Sociology Courses Into the Higher Education System in America)
Lester Frank Ward
2
Birthdate: June 18, 1841
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Joliet, Illinois, United States
Died: April 18, 1913

Lester Frank Ward was an American paleontologist, botanist, and sociologist. He is best remembered for his service as the American Sociological Association's first president. Lester Frank Ward played an important role in bringing Sociology courses into the higher education system in America. 

 17 
Kenneth Burke
(Philosopher, Literary critic, University teacher, Sociologist, Journalist, Writer)
Kenneth Burke
3
Birthdate: May 5, 1897
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Pittsburgh
Died: November 19, 1993
 18 
Wilhelm Dilthey
(Philosopher Known for the Way He Distinguished Between the Natural and Human Sciences)
Wilhelm Dilthey
3
Birthdate: November 19, 1833
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Biebrich, Wiesbaden, Germany
Died: October 1, 1911

Wilhelm Dilthey was a German psychologist, sociologist, historian, and hermeneutic philosopher. An ardent admirer of Friedrich Schleiermacher, Dilthey helped revive the former's works on hermeneutics. Wilhelm Dilthey is also credited with teaching future philosophers like Hans Lipps, Eduard Spranger, and Theodor Litt.

 19 
William Graham Sumner
(American Clergyman, Social Scientist, and Neoclassical Liberal)
William Graham Sumner
3
Birthdate: October 30, 1840
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Paterson, New Jersey, United States
Died: April 12, 1910

William Graham Sumner was an American social scientist who held America's first professorship in sociology; he served as a professor of social sciences at Yale. Sumner, who wrote several essays and books on American history, political theory, sociology, and economic history, was one of the most popular and influential teachers at Yale. He also had an influence on American conservatism.

 20 
Alfred Weber
(Economist, Educationist, Sociologist, University teacher)
Alfred Weber
3
Birthdate: July 30, 1868
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Erfurt
Died: May 2, 1958

Alfred Weber was a German geographer, sociologist, economist, and theoretician of culture. Weber's work and contribution played a key role in the progression of modern economic geography. The younger brother of Max Weber, Alfred Weber contributed theories for analyzing social processes, social change as a confluence of civilization, and culture.

 21 
Chester Barnard
(Business Executive)
Chester Barnard
3
Birthdate: November 7, 1886
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Malden, Massachusetts, United States
Died: June 7, 1961
 22 
Edvard Westermarck
(Philosopher)
Edvard Westermarck
1
Birthdate: November 20, 1862
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Helsinki, Finland
Died: September 3, 1939
 23 
Robert Morrison MacIver
(Sociologist)
Robert Morrison MacIver
3
Birthdate: April 17, 1882
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Stornoway, Scotland
Died: June 15, 1970
 24 
Pierre Guillaume Frédéric le Play
(French Engineer, Sociologist and Economist Who Developed Techniques for Systematic Research on the Family)
Pierre Guillaume Frédéric le Play
1
Birthdate: April 11, 1806
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: La Rivière-Saint-Sauveur, France
Died: April 5, 1882
French mining engineer and sociologist, Pierre-Guillaume-Frédéric Le Play, developed techniques for systematic research on the family. Le Play's first important work, European Workers was a collection of monographs on the moral life and material conditions of 36 working-class families. He utilized the device of the family budget for the purpose of determining standards of living. 
 25 
Werner Sombart
(German Economist and Sociologist Known for Coining the Term ‘Late Capitalism')
Werner Sombart
2
Birthdate: January 19, 1863
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Ermsleben, Falkenstein, Germany
Died: May 18, 1941

Werner Sombart was a German sociologist and economist. He was one of the 20th century's most important Continental European social scientists who served as the leader of the Youngest Historical School. Werner Sombart is credited with coining the phrase late capitalism. He is also remembered for his magnum opus, Der moderne Kapitalismus.

 26 
Edwin Sutherland
(Sociologist)
Edwin Sutherland
2
Birthdate: August 13, 1883
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Gibbon, Nebraska, U.S
Died: October 11, 1950
 27 
Eugenio María de Hostos
(Educator)
Eugenio María de Hostos
2
Birthdate: January 11, 1839
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: near Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
Died: August 11, 1903
 28 
W. Lloyd Warner
(Anthropologist)
W. Lloyd Warner
3
Birthdate: October 26, 1898
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Redlands, California, United States
Died: May 23, 1970
 29 
Siegfried Kracauer
(German Writer, Sociologist, Journalist, Film Theorist, and Cultural Critic)
Siegfried Kracauer
4
Birthdate: February 8, 1889
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Frankfurt, Germany
Died: November 26, 1966
 30 
Ziya Gökalp
(Turkish Sociologist, Author, and Poet)
Ziya Gökalp
2
Birthdate: March 23, 1876
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Çermik, Turkey
Died: October 25, 1924

Turkish intellectual, sociologist, and author Mehmed Ziya, better known by his pseudonym, Ziya Gökalp, was a main figure of the Turkish nationalist movement. Though initially educated as a vet, he later quit his studies to focus on politics. His writings include The Principles of Turkism. He was apparently highly influenced by Sufism.

 31 
Otto Neurath
(Economist, Philosopher, Sociologist, Graphic designer, Statistical graphics)
Otto Neurath
2
Birthdate: December 10, 1882
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Vienna
Died: December 22, 1945

Otto Neurath was an Austrian-born philosopher of science, political economist, and sociologist. He is known for inventing the ISOTYPE method of pictorial statistics. A native of Vienna, he was one of the leading figures of the Vienna Circle. As an economist, he advocated for ideas like "in-kind" economic accounting in place of monetary accounting. 

 32 
Theodor Geiger
(Professor)
Theodor Geiger
1
Birthdate: November 9, 1891
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Munich, Germany
Died: June 16, 1952
 33 
Roger Nash Baldwin
(Sociologist, Trade unionist)
Roger Nash Baldwin
2
Birthdate: January 21, 1884
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Massachusetts
Died: August 26, 1981

Roger Nash Baldwin was a pacifist who played a major role in the development of the human rights movement in USA. He was a founding member of the American Civil Liberties Union and also founded the International League for the Rights of Man. He was a conscientious objector during World War I. He received the Medal of Freedom in 1981.  

 34 
Maurice Halbwachs
(French Philosopher and Sociologist Known for Developing the Concept of Collective Memory)
Maurice Halbwachs
2
Birthdate: March 11, 1877
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Reims, France
Died: March 16, 1945

Maurice Halbwachs was one of the few French sociologists to work empirically. One of the brightest students at École Normale Supérieure, he later joined socialist movements. Though appreciated for his work on memory and its social conditions, he was detained by the Nazis and died in the Buchenwald concentration camp.

 35 
Corrado Gini
(Statistician)
Corrado Gini
1
Birthdate: May 23, 1884
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Motta di Livenza, Italy
Died: March 13, 1965
 36 
Robert Michels
(Sociologist)
Robert Michels
2
Birthdate: January 9, 1876
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Cologne, Germany
Died: May 3, 1936
 37 
Ernest Burgess
(Sociologist)
Ernest Burgess
2
Birthdate: May 16, 1886
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Tilbury, Chatham-Kent, Canada
Died: December 27, 1966
 38 
Emily Greene Balch
(Central Leader of the 'Women's International League for Peace and Freedom' and Winner of 1946 Nobel Peace Prize)
Emily Greene Balch
1
Birthdate: January 8, 1867
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Boston
Died: January 9, 1961

Emily Greene Balch was an American sociologist, economist, and pacifist. She is best remembered for her work to deal with social issues like child labor, poverty, and immigration. She also worked towards reducing juvenile delinquency and uplifting poor immigrants. In 1946, Emily Greene Balch was honored with the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize.

 39 
Franz Oppenheimer
(Sociologist)
Franz Oppenheimer
1
Birthdate: March 30, 1864
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Berlin, Germany
Died: September 30, 1943
 40 
Ernst Troeltsch
(Politician, Theologian, University teacher, Sociologist)
Ernst Troeltsch
1
Birthdate: February 17, 1865
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Augsburg-Haunstetten
Died: February 1, 1923

Ernst Troeltsch was one of the first German theologians to insist that the Christian church should reconsider its version of absolute truth. The Social Teaching of the Christian Churches remains his best-known work. The son of a physician, he was skeptical of religious absolutism from the very beginning.

 41 
W. I. Thomas
(Sociologist, Writer)
W. I. Thomas
2
Birthdate: August 13, 1863
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Russell County
Died: December 5, 1947
 42 
Louis Wirth
(Sociologist)
Louis Wirth
4
Birthdate: August 28, 1897
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Gemünden, Germany
Died: May 3, 1952
 43 
Graham Wallas
(British Psychologist, Sociologists and Political Scientist)
Graham Wallas
2
Birthdate: May 31, 1858
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Monkwearmouth, Sunderland, England
Died: August 9, 1932

Political scientist and Fabian Society leader Graham Wallas is best known for his iconic work Human Nature in Politics. He contributed to the development of the London School of Economics and was one of its first professors. He also proposed one of the first models of the creative process.

 44 
Charles S. Johnson
(Sociologist)
Charles S. Johnson
1
Birthdate: July 24, 1893
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Bristol, Virginia, United States
Died: October 27, 1956
 45 
Edward A. Ross
(Sociologist)
Edward A. Ross
1
Birthdate: December 12, 1866
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Virden, Illinois, United States
Died: July 22, 1951
 46 
Othmar Spann
(Austrian Philosopher, Sociologist and Economist)
Othmar Spann
1
Birthdate: October 1, 1878
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Vienna, Austria
Died: July 8, 1950

Austrian philosopher and sociologist Othmar Spann initially taught in Brünn and then fought during World War I. He later taught at the University of Vienna for almost 2 decades. His ideas were radically anti-liberal. A Nazi Party member, he believed in the superiority of a corporate state.

 47 
Marianne Weber
(Sociologist)
Marianne Weber
3
Birthdate: August 2, 1870
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Oerlinghausen, Germany
Died: March 12, 1954
 48 
Ellen Gates Starr
(American Social Reformer and Activist)
Ellen Gates Starr
3
Birthdate: March 19, 1859
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Laona Township, Illinois, United States
Died: February 10, 1940

Ellen Gates Starr is best remembered for co-establishing the Hull House social settlement in Chicago along with activist Jane Addams. Initially an art student, she later dedicated her life for the betterment of immigrant factory workers and reformation for child labor laws. She later retired to a Roman Catholic convent.

 49 
William Fielding Ogburn
(Sociologist)
William Fielding Ogburn
3
Birthdate: June 29, 1886
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Butler, Georgia, United States
Died: April 27, 1959
 50 
Mehmet Fuat Köprülü
(Sociologist)
Mehmet Fuat Köprülü
1
Birthdate: December 5, 1890
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Istanbul, Turkey
Died: June 28, 1966