Robert Owen

4 Pages 1090 Words

Robert Owen, the son of a saddler and ironmonger, became one of the most successful mill owners of the Industrial Revolution with a reputation as the producer of fine cotton. However, it was not as a successful and respected businessman that he left his mark on history, but as one of the most prominent social reformers of the period, a pioneer of modern British socialism and a source of inspiration to the cooperative and trade union movements.
Even as a young boy, Owens was an exceptional person. Before he was ten, he had already read many classical novels such as Pilgrims Progress and Robinson Crusoe, as well as books on history and theology, which as considered much too difficult for a child of his age. Owens moved on to become involved in the textile industry at a young age. He became a Draper¡¯s assistant and eventually a Master cotton spinner by the age of twenty. In 1789, he borrowed some money from his brother and went into business with Ernest Jones, a young engineer. Initially, the partnership was to manufacture new spinning machines, but shortly after, Owens set up his own cotton spinner with just three employees. His entrepreneurship led to great success, and by the age of twenty, he was in charge of a modern steam cotton mill employing 500 people. He became extremely successful in this field and eventually became a partner in the Charlton Twist Company.
As a partner of the Charlton Twist Company, Owens would often travel great distances to seek orders. On one of his trips to Glasgow, he met his future wife Caroline Dale, the daughter of David Dale. At the time, David Dale was the owner of several large cotton mills at New Lanark. In 1799, Owens and his partners convinced Dale and purchased the New Lanark mills. From the very beginning, Owens saw the poor living and working conditions of the workers and wanted to improve those standards. At the time, the mill employed between 1500 to 2000 workers,...