Max Horkheimer

Max Horkheimer (1895–1973) was a German social philosopher and a leading figure of the Frankfurt School. He studied philosophy and psychology in Munich, Frankfurt am Main, and Freiburg. In 1930, he became professor of social philosophy and director of the Institute for Social Research in Frankfurt am Main. After emigrating in 1933, he continued the institute’s work abroad and later at Columbia University in New York. In 1950, he re-established the institute in Frankfurt; from 1951 to 1952, he served as rector of the University of Frankfurt. With Theodor W. Adorno, he wrote Dialectic of Enlightenment, a seminal work of Critical Theory.