Engels, Friedrich (1820-1895), German revolutionary political economist and co-founder, with Karl Marx, of scientific socialism, now known as Communism.

Engels was born in Barmen (now Wuppertal). He came from a wealthy Protestant family. At an early age he was influenced by the works of the radical German poet Heinrich Heine and the German philosopher G. W. F. Hegel, and in 1839 he began writing on literary and philosophical topics for a number of publications. In 1842 Engels was converted to Communist beliefs by the German Socialist Moses Hess. In the same year he met Karl Marx.