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August Bebel, (born February 22, 1840, Deutz, near Cologne, Germany—died August 13, 1913, Passugg, Switzerland), German Socialist, cofounder of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) of Germany and its most influential and popular leader for more than 40 years.

August Bebel (1840-1913) was one of the most influential leaders of German and international socialism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, who fought for social justice and women’s liberation.

Who was August Bebel? Prominent German socialist August Bebel (1840-1913) was a founder of the Social Democratic Workers' Party. He championed the cause of workers both as a political leader and as a writer of socialist non-fiction polemics.

August Bebel, (born Feb. 22, 1840, Deutz, near Cologne, Ger.—died Aug. 13, 1913, Passugg, Switz.), German socialist and writer. A turner by trade, Bebel joined the Leipzig Workers’ Educational Association (1861) and became its chairman (1865).

August Bebel became a Marxist under the influence of Wilhelm Liebknecht and led the South-German Workers’ Union to break with the liberals and form the German Social-Democratic Party. In 1879 Bebel published his book Woman and Socialism, which was considered an important theoretical work that also helped gain interest in Marxist ideas in Germany.