John Watts

John Watts (1818–1887) was an English educational and social reformer. Originally an Owenite, whose economic writings affected the views of Friedrich Engels, he moved to a position more in favour of capital. In later life he had a multiplicity of interests and undertook many social projects. Early life The son of James Watts, a ribbon weaver, he was born at Coventry, Warwickshire, on 24 March 1818. At five years of age he suffered partial paralysis of his left side, and could not take a manual job. After leaving elementary school, he became a member of the local Mechanics' Institution, where from age of 13 to 20 he acted as assistant secretary and librarian. He then went into trade, but adopted communist principles, and became a lecturer on Robert Owen's views. He visited many towns, and in Scotland attended lectures at the Andersonian University. In July 1841 Watts moved to Manchester. For three years he ran a boys' school in the Manchester Hall of Science, an Owenite foundation designed to hold 3000 people. He held public discussions in the district on Owen's system of society. It was at this period that Engels had contact with Watts as a lecturer. After Owen In 1844 Watts had come to the conclusion that Owen's ideal community was impracticable, and many of its adherents self-seeking; and he went into business again. On 18 July 1844 he obtained from the University of Giessen the degree of PhD In 1846 he was named by the Northern Star, the radical Chartist paper, as one of a small number of Owenites sympathetic to the aims of their movement, with George Holyoake and G. A. Fleming.