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,
