Wilhelm Liebknecht

Wilhelm Liebknecht
Member of the Reichstag
In office 1874–1900
Member of the North German Reichstag
In office 1867–1871
Member of the Landtag of Saxony
In office 1889–1892
In office 1879–1885
Personal details
Born	Wilhelm Martin Philipp Christian Ludwig Liebknecht (1826-03-29)29 March 1826 Giessen, Grand Duchy of Hesse
Died	7 August 1900(1900-08-07) (aged 74) Charlottenburg, Berlin, Prussia, German Empire
Nationality	German
Political party	Communist League ADAV Saxon People's Party SDAP SPD
Children	Theodor Karl
Occupation	Politician, journalist

Wilhelm Martin Philipp Christian Ludwig Liebknecht (German pronunciation: [ˈvɪlhɛlm ˈliːpknɛçt] ^ⓘ; 29 March 1826 – 7 August 1900) was a German socialist activist and politician. He was one of the principal founders of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).^[1] He was the father of socialists Karl Liebknecht and Theodor Liebknecht.

Liebknecht participated in the German Revolution of 1848, and after its defeat lived in exile, where he met Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. In 1862, he returned to Germany and worked with Ferdinand Lassalle in Berlin until disagreements with Lassalle's General German Workers' Association (ADAV) led him to move to Saxony. In 1866, he and August Bebel founded the Saxon People's Party, and in 1869 the two founded the Social Democratic Workers' Party (SDAP). In 1875, Liebknecht helped to unite the SDAP and ADAV to form the party which later became the SPD, and was largely responsible for drafting its inaugural Gotha Program. Liebknecht was also a member of the Reichstag from 1874, and an important member of the Second International from 1889.