Sociology was born in the 1800s, as thinkers struggled to make sense of a world remade by revolution, industry, and crowded cities. Four figures gave the young science its first big ideas. Tap a name on the timeline to meet each one.
Sociology's four foundersEach of these thinkers answered the same question differently: what holds a society together, and what tears it apart? Their answers became the paradigms sociologists still use today. Tap any name to see their big idea.