Franz Mehring was born in Schlawe, Germany, on 27th February, 1846. He became a journalist and edited the socialist newspaper, Berliner Volkszeitung.

Mehring joined the Social Democratic Party in 1890 and worked for its journal, Zeue Zeit (New Age). He also wrote History of German Social Democracy that was published in 1897.

Mehring was opposed to Germany's participation in the First World War and at the end of 1914 joined with Karl Liebknecht, Rosa Luxemburg, Paul Levi, Ernest Meyer, Leo Jogiches and Clara Zetkin to establish an underground political organization called Spartakusbund (Spartacus League). The Spartacus League publicized its views in its illegal newspaper, Spartacus Letters.

Franz Mehring, who published a biography of Karl Marx: A Biography in 1918, died in Berlin on 28th January, 1919.