Robert Dale Owen (1801 - 1877)

Robert Dale Owen (November 7, 1801 – June 24, 1877) was a Scottish-born Welsh social reformer who immigrated to the United States in 1825, became a U.S. citizen, and was active in Indiana politics in the Indiana House of Representatives and represented Indiana in the U.S. House of Representatives (1843–47). As a member of Congress, Owen successfully pushed through the bill that established Smithsonian Institution and served on the Institution's first Board of Regents. Robert Dale Owen wrote and published numerous pamphlets, speeches, books, and articles that described his personal and political views, including a series of open letters he wrote in 1862 that favored the abolition of slavery and supported general emancipation.