Emma Goldman

Emma Goldman was an American anarchist of Russian origin who is credited to have contributed immensely towards the development of anarchist political philosophy in America and Europe. She was a well known writer and political activist who became drawn to the concept of anarchism after listening to a lecture by Johann Most, an orator and newspaper editor famous for his radical political views. Born in Russia, she emigrated to the U.S. as a teenager. She became involved in politics after the infamous Haymarket affair after which several prominent anarchists were sentenced to death. She was an outspoken orator and a prolific writer whose works cover a wide range of subjects like women empowerment, sexuality, politics, atheism, and workers’ rights. She developed a lifelong professional and personal relationship with the anarchist writer Alexander Berkman with whom she planned to kill Henry Clay Frick in the wake of the Homestead Steel Strike. Even though the assassination attempt failed, she often found herself having brushes with the police because of her activism; she was arrested and imprisoned numerous times. A trained nurse, she worked hard for women empowerment and was held for disseminating information about birth control. A woman fiercely devoted to her cause, she was actively involved in her work till the very end.