Charles Fourier

François Marie Charles Fourier was born on 7 April 1772, a merchant's son who turned against commerce to imagine society rebuilt from scratch. He became one of the founders of utopian socialism, drafting elaborate plans for cooperative communities he called phalanxes. Views considered radical in his time - including his early advocacy for women's equality, which led him to originate the word "feminism" in 1837 - would later enter the mainstream. His writings inspired a wave of intentional communities: the North American Phalanx in Red Bank, Brook Farm in Massachusetts, colonies in Ohio, Texas, Illinois, Kansas, and New York, plus the Familistery in Guise, France. Most experiments failed, but Fourier's influence rippled outward to later revolutionary thinkers. He died on 10 October 1837, leaving a blueprint that refused to stay theoretical.