leading member of the anarchist movement in the early 20th century
1870 CE
to 1936 CE
Alexander Berkman (November 21, 1870 – June 28, 1936) is a leading member of the anarchist movement in the early twentieth century, famous for both his political activism and his writing.
Berkman was born in Vilna in the Russian Empire (present-day Vilnius, Lithuania) and immigrated to the United States in 1888.
He lives in New York City, where he becomes involved in the anarchist movement.
He is the one-time lover and lifelong friend of anarchist Emma Goldman
In 1892, undertaking an act of propaganda of the deed, Berkman makes an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate businessman Henry Clay Frick, for which he serves fourteen years in prison.
His experience in prison is the basis of his first book, Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist.
After his release from prison, Berkman serves as editor of Goldman's anarchist journal, Mother Earth, and later establishes his own journal, The Blast.
In 1917, Berkman and Goldman are sentenced to two years in jail for conspiracy against the newly instated draft.
After their release from prison, they are arrested—along with hundreds of others—and deported to Russia.
Initially supportive of that country's Bolshevik revolution, Berkman and Goldman soon become disillusioned, voicing their opposition to the Soviets' use of terror after seizing power and their repression of fellow revolutionaries.
They leave the Soviet Union in late 1921, and in 1925 Berkman publishes a book about his experiences, The Bolshevik Myth.
While living in France, Berkman continues his work in support of the anarchist movement, producing the classic exposition of anarchist principles, Now and After: The ABC of Communist Anarchism.
Suffering from ill health, Berkman commits suicide in 1936.
