October 17

Claude Henri de Rouvroy, comte de Saint-Simon was born in Paris in 1760. As an aristocrat, he served in the royal cavalry before shifting to intellectual pursuits. Saint-Simon developed early socialist ideas advocating industrial leadership for social progress. He authored 'L'Industrie' and 'The New Christianity', proposing technocratic governance based on merit. His vision influenced later utopian socialists like Charles Fourier and Robert Owen. Though facing poverty in later years, his ideas profoundly shaped 19th-century social and economic thought.

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan (1817–1898) was an influential Indian Muslim scholar, philosopher, and social reformer of the 19th century. He advocated modern scientific education for Muslims in British India and founded the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College in 1875, which later became Aligarh Muslim University. Khan promoted interfaith dialogue and loyalty to the British crown as a way to advance Muslim interests. His writings on theology, history, and social reform reshaped Muslim identity and education in colonial India. Celebrated for his efforts in modernizing Muslim society, he remains a foundational figure in South Asian educational history.