Robert D. Owen | |
|---|---|
 Robert Dale Owen as he appeared in the 1840s. | |
| U.S. Minister to the Two Sicilies | |
| In office 1853–1858 | |
| President | Franklin Pierce |
| Preceded by | Edward Joy Morris |
| Succeeded by | Joseph Ripley Chandler |
| Member of the Indiana House of Representatives from the 76th district | |
| In office 1851–1853 | |
| In office 1835–1838 | |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana's 1st district | |
| In office 4 March 1843 – 3 March 1847 | |
| Preceded by | George H. Proffit |
| Succeeded by | Elisha Embree |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 7 November 1801 Glasgow, Scotland, UK |
| Died | 24 June 1877 (aged 75) Lake George, New York, U.S. |
| Nationality | British-American |
| Political party | Working Men's (1829–1831) Democratic (1832–1877) |
| Spouses | |
| Children | Florence Julian Dale Ernest Rosamond |
| Parent(s) | Robert Owen and Ann (or Anne) Caroline Dale Owen |
| Signature |  |
Robert Dale Owen (7 November 1801 – 24 June 1877) was a Scottish-born Welsh-American social reformer who was active in Indiana politics as member of the Democratic Party in the Indiana House of Representatives (1835–39 and 1851–53) and represented Indiana in the U.S. House of Representatives (1843–47). As a member of Congress, Owen successfully pushed through the bill that established Smithsonian Institution and served on the Institution's first Board of Regents. Owen also served as a delegate to the Indiana Constitutional Convention in 1850 and was appointed as U.S. chargé d'affaires (1853–58) to Naples.
Owen was a knowledgeable exponent of the socialist doctrines of his father, Robert Owen, and managed the day-to-day operation of New Harmony, Indiana, the socialistic utopian community he helped establish with his father in 1825. Throughout his adult life, Robert Dale Owen wrote and published numerous pamphlets, speeches, books, and articles that described his personal and political views, including his belief in spiritualism. Owen co-edited the New-Harmony Gazette with Frances Wright in the late 1820s in Indiana and the Free Enquirer in the 1830s in New York City. Owen was an advocate of married women's property and divorce rights, and secured inclusion of an article in the Indiana Constitution of 1851 that provided tax-supported funding for a uniform system of free public schools and established the position of Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction. Owen is also noted for a series of open letters he wrote in 1862 that favored the abolition of slavery and supported general emancipation, as well as a suggestion that the federal government should provide assistance to freedmen.