A posthumous fame for Joseph Dietzgen as a philosopher of Social Democratic Ideas and Science.

Born October 27, 1828 - died April 17, 1888. Came to the United States from the Rhineland in 1851 after acquiring the principles of Marx's and Engel's Theories fought for them in 1848. His longing for a renewal of this fight and to join the then existing struggle between the progressives and reactionaries inspired him to return to his native country.

Convinced after five years of luckless battle, of the impossibility and hopelessness of the liberal cause he returned to America in 1859. He couldn't stay long this time either. In 1862 he returned to the old battle fields, only to leave a year later for Russia to take over the management of one of the biggest government tanneries where he stayed until 1869.

During this time he wrote the book: The Essence of Human Intelligence, logic by a critique manual laborer. This book attacks Kantian theory and creates a new philosophy which Dietzgen himself calls proletarian philosophy. Marx introduced him to the Congress held in the Hague,1872,with the words: "This is Mr. Dietzgen our philosopher."

In 1869 he returned to Germany to manage a tannery of his own which he had inherited. He helped the Social Democratic Party under La Salle, Bebel and Liebkneckt to win their first victory in 1877. In 1881 he was defeated in his candidacy for parliament and returned to his children in the United States. For a while he was chief editor of the New York Socialist but came to his children in Chicago in 1886.

After the Haymarket disaster he managed the Chicagoer Arbeiter Zeitung during its most trying period.