Alexander Berkman

Biography

Alexander Berkman (1870–1936) was a Lithuanian-born American anarchist writer, activist, and political prisoner. Born in Vilna, he emigrated to the United States in 1888 and became a leading figure in the anarchist movement. In 1892 he attempted to assassinate industrialist Henry Clay Frick during the Homestead Strike and served fourteen years in prison. After his release, he became an influential writer and editor. Deported to Russia in 1919, he initially supported the Bolshevik Revolution but became deeply disillusioned, documenting his experiences in The Bolshevik Myth (1925). He lived in exile in Europe until his death.