August Bebel

August Bebel
Bebel, c. 1900
Chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Germany
In office
21 November 1892 – 13 August 1913
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Member of the Reichstag
(German Empire)
In office
21 March 1871 – 13 August 1913
(North German Confederation)
In office
10 September 1867 – 10 December 1870
Personal details
Born
Ferdinand August Bebel

(1840-02-22)22 February 1840
Deutz (Cologne), Rhine Province, Kingdom of Prussia
Died13 August 1913(1913-08-13) (aged 73)
Passug, Churwalden, Switzerland
Political party
  • SVP (1867–1869)
  • SDAP (1869–1875)
  • SAPD (1875–1890)
  • SDP (from 1890)
Other political
affiliations
First International
ProfessionTurner
Signature

Ferdinand August Bebel (German pronunciation: [aʊ̯ˈɡʊst ˈfɛʁdinant ˈbeːbl̩]; 22 February 1840 – 13 August 1913) was a German socialist activist and politician. He is best remembered as one of the founders, with Wilhelm Liebknecht, of the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Germany (SDAP) in 1869, which in 1875 merged with the General German Workers' Association to form the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), which became the leading party of the social-democratic movement in Germany. Bebel served as a member of the Reichstag from 1871 to his death in 1913, and as chairman of the SPD from 1892 to 1913.