| Robert Owen was known as the 'Father of Co-operation' and
of British socialism. He was born in Newtown, in Wales and worked
in London and Manchester before becoming the manager of the
mills of the New Lanark Twist Company in 1800. While in New
Lanark he developed his theory of character formation, his ideas
on the education of children and the improvement of working
conditions - such as the reduction of working hours and the
introduction of sick pay.
Owen was involved in work to limit child labour in factories and
set up co-operative communities in the UK and America. One of his
sons remained in America and became a Senator. Owen's work with
trade unions and views on marriage and religion - referred to by
his biographer Podmore as "The Holy War" - are well documented.
The best known of the Archive's collections is the Robert Owen
Collection. The chronological and name catalogues to the 3,000 letters
in the correspondence were compiled in the 1960s and there are copies
of the catalogues in universities and libraries in several countries
across the world. Owen was a prolific writer - in addition to the
letters, the Collection includes books, pamphlets and journals by
and about him.
The illustration is of a page from a printer's proof of Robert
Owen's "Report to the County of New Lanark" with corrections
by the author.
The Co-operative College has close links with the Robert Owen Museum
in Newtown, Wales and with the New Lanark Conservation Trust, based
in the village which became world famous as Owen's model community
and has now received World Heritage Status.
Robert
Owen Collection (pdf 89 kb)
Robert Owen Museum
Robert
Owen Society
New Lanark Conservation Trust
Robert
Owen Memorial - digitised booklet (PDF 507 Kb)
Open University Learning Space - Robert Owen & New Lanark |
