Auguste Comte

Full Name: Isidore Auguste Marie François Xavier Comte
Profession: Philosopher and Father of Sociology

Biography: Auguste Comte was a French philosopher best known for founding sociology and developing the theory of positivism. He coined the term "sociology" and contributed significantly to the philosophy of science.

Comte's work had a profound influence on later thinkers and laid the groundwork for modern social sciences. His other notable contribution was the creation of the "Religion of Humanity," a secular moral system based on positivist principles.

Comte was a student at the Lycée Joffre and the University of Montpellier before attending the École Polytechnique in Paris. His association with Henri de Saint-Simon greatly influenced his early thinking. Comte worked with Saint-Simon and began to publish essays under his own name starting in 1819.

In 1822, he published Plan de travaux scientifiques nécessaires pour réorganiser la société, outlining his thoughts on the reorganization of society despite his struggle to secure an academic position.

Comte's magnum opus, Cours de philosophie positive (1830-1842), presented his positivist philosophy and outlined the law of three stages as well as the hierarchy of sciences.

His marriage to Caroline Massin in 1825 and subsequent mental health crisis and divorce affected his personal life and work. After falling in love with Clotilde de Vaux in 1844, he was inspired to develop the "Religion of Humanity," which he detailed in Système de politique positive (1851-1854) and La Synthèse Subjective (1856).

He died of stomach cancer in September of 1857 in Paris, leaving behind a legacy that influenced figures like John Stuart Mill, with whom he had shared a correspondence in later life, as well as George Eliot, and Herbert Spencer.

Born: January 19, 1798
Birthplace: Montpellier, France
Star Sign: Capricorn

Died: September 5, 1857 (aged 59)
Cause of Death: Stomach cancer