SAINT SIMON, CLAUDE HENRY, COUNT DE, a French social philosopher, the founder of French socialism; born in Paris, France, in 1760. After completing his education he entered the army, and in 1777 was included in an expedition sent by Louis XVI. to assist the United States in her war with England. After seeing sonic service under Washington, and trav eling through Mexico, he returned to France and was appointed colonel in the French army. He, however, took no in terest in his military duties, as he in tended to devote his life to the advance ment of human civilization. On the breaking out of the Revolution, though he warmly sympathized with the move. went, he took no part in the subsequent events, but retired entirely from the army, and bought a considerable quantity of confiscated land, with the view of estab lishing a large scientific and industrial school; but the scheme was a failure, and St. Simon retired from it after losing a vast sum of money. From this time he devoted himself to what he termed a "physico-political" reformation, for which purpose he entered into the study of all the physical sciences—mathematics, as tronomy, general physics, and chemistry —and all the general science attainable with respect to organized beings. He next
proceeded to make his "experimental edu cation"; he married and continued to pur sue his prescribed career, in which good and evil were confounded. This, how ever, in 1807, came to an end; his fortune was gone, and he was compelled to become a clerk in a government office at a small yearly salary. In 1812, he being then in his 52d year, he considered it time to "es tablish his theory," and published a num ber of remarkable works which attracted round him a large number of disciples. His last efforts were directed toward the foundation of a new religion, which he called the New Christianity, in which so ciety was to be reorganized on this for mula: "To each man a vocation according to his capacity, and to each capacity a recompense according to its worth." Be fore breathing his last he gave final in structions to his chief disciples, among whom were Augustin Thierry and Comte, the future author of the "Positive Philosophy." His most important works were, "Introduction to the Scientific La bors of the Nineteenth Century," "The Reorganization of European Society," and "New Christianity." He died in 1825.