1771-1858. British socialist, born in Wales.
In 1800 he became manager of a mill at New
Lanark, Scotland, where by improving working
and housing conditions and providing schools
he created a model community. His ideas
stimulated the co-operative movement. From
1817 Owen proposed that `villages of
cooperation', self-supporting communities run
on socialist lines, should be founded; these,
he believed, would ultimately replace private
ownership. His later attempt to run such a
community in the USA failed.