He was born in Lissa, Prussian Province of Posen (Leszno, Poland) in 1824 and moved to Berlin in 1840. Born was a member of the Communist League, but his philosophy was more inclined toward reformism during the 1848-1849 revolution. Born was the supreme commander of the insurgency in the town of Dresden in 1849. After the defeat of the uprisings of 1849, Born left the worker's movement. He died in 1898 in Basel, Switzerland.