death_place children birth_place nationality major_books notable_works spouse known_for cause_death image article_title education name occupation
south croydon franklin and twins john and rolf county clare , ireland irish '' social evolution '' -lrb- 1894 -rrb- '' social evolution '' -lrb- 1894 -rrb- maud emma isabel perry of weston-super-mare applying biological evolution theory to social evolution heart disease file : benjamin kidd.jpg benjamin kidd
 autodidact benjamin kidd sociologist
benjamin kidd

benjamin kidd -lrb- 1858 -- 1916 -rrb- was a british sociologist whose first job was a civil service clerk , but who , by persistent self-education , became internationally famous by the publication of his book `` social evolution '' in 1894 .
kidd argued that the `` evolution of society and of modern civilization '' is caused not by reason or science , but by the force of `` religious beliefs . ''
the book had worldwide circulation and impacted the social gospel movement .
kidd is reckoned as a founder of sociology as a discipline .
influenced by darwinism evolution , kidd sought and found analogies between the evolution of human society and of the biological organism .
kidd 's prolific writings had a major impact at the time .
however , the world was so different after the first world war that kidd 's work became relegated to historical interest .
