Profession: Sociologist, Economist and Historian
Biography: Considered one of Sociology's founding fathers, Max Weber's most famous work today is his 1904 essay "The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism". In this, he makes the case that Capitalism emerged in Europe as the result of the Protestant Work Ethic.
Weber was also an historian and an economist, influenced by the theories of Frederich Nietzsche, Immanuel Kant and Karl Marx and wrote an agrarian analysis of ancient Rome and Eastern Germany. He became a successful academic and well-known public intellectual. Weber suffered a breakdown in 1897, shortly after his father's death and didn't return to teaching until 1919, though his study and influential writings continued.
During WWI he changed from being a patriotic supporter of the Kaiser government to an advocate for constitutional reform. He helped draft the Weimar Constitution and was invited to be part of the peace delegation to Versailles.
Born: April 21, 1864
Birthplace: Erfurt, Saxony, Prussia
Star Sign: Taurus
Clive Granger
George Akerlof
Herbert A. Simon
Janet Yellen
A. J. P. Taylor
Arnold J. Toynbee
Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.
Edward Gibbon
Émile Durkheim
Herbert Spencer
Ibn Khaldūn
Karl Marx