James Tochatti (1852 – 22 November 1928), was a Scottish anarchist agitator,

merchant tailor In the Middle Ages or 16th and 17th centuries, a cloth merchant was one who owned or ran a cloth (often wool) manufacturing or wholesale import or export business. A cloth merchant might additionally own a number of draper's shops. Cloth was ext ...

trade unionist A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits (s ...

, newspaper editor and public speaker. From 1894 to 1896 he was editor of the monthly

anarcho-communist Anarcho-communism, also known as anarchist communism, (or, colloquially, ''ancom'' or ''ancomm'') is a political philosophy and anarchist school of thought that advocates communism. It calls for the abolition of private property but retains resp ...

paper ''

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

''.

Biography

James Tochatti was born in 1852 in Ballater, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, to police constable Joseph Tochatti and his wife Jane Cormack. In the 1860s the family moved to

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

. Tochatti began studying medicine as well as working as a

stationer Stationery refers to commercially manufactured writing materials, including cut paper, envelopes, writing implements, continuous form paper, and other office supplies. Stationery includes materials to be written on by hand (e.g., letter paper) ...

before becoming a merchant tailor. In the mid-1870s he moved to London and became active in the

National Secular Society The National Secular Society (NSS) is a British campaigning organisation that promotes secularism and the separation of church and state. It holds that no one should gain advantage or disadvantage because of their religion or lack of it. It was ...

. At this time he also began practising and lecturing on the pseudosciences phrenology and

physiognomy Physiognomy (from the Greek , , meaning "nature", and , meaning "judge" or "interpreter") is the practice of assessing a person's character or personality from their outer appearance—especially the face. The term can also refer to the genera ...

. In 1877 he married Louisa Susan Kaufmann with whom he went on to have three children. In 1882 Tochatti was charged with disorderly conduct outside a cheesemongers in Hammersmith in a dispute over closing times. Tochatti was active in the Hammersmith Radical Club, and in 1885 he was a founding member of the Hammersmith branch of the Socialist League. In 1886 he was elected to the Socialist League's Hammersmith branch. His wife, Louisa, was also active in the branch. He regularly undertook public speaking and contributed to the League's paper ''

Commonweal Commonweal or common weal may refer to: * Common good, what is shared and beneficial for members of a given community * Common Weal, a Scottish think tank and advocacy group * Commonweal (magazine), ''Commonweal'' (magazine), an American lay-Cath ...

''. At this time he also began to align with

anarchist communism Anarcho-communism, also known as anarchist communism, (or, colloquially, ''ancom'' or ''ancomm'') is a political philosophy and anarchist school of thought that advocates communism. It calls for the abolition of private property but retains res ...

. Tochatti served as the branch president of the National Labour Federation trade union during the successful 1889 strike over low pay at the John Isaac Thornycraft shipyard in Chiswick. In 1890 the Socialist League split, with the Hammersmith branch leaving the League to become the Hammersmith Socialist Society. Tochatti remained a member of the League and of the Hammersmith society despite the society adopting an anti-anarchist stance. Tochatti remained a friend of

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He ...

despite the split. James_Tochatti_'Wanted'_poster_for_two_lectures

In the 1890s he served as organising secretary of the United Shop Assistants' Union. He was arrested in 1890 during a protest and again in 1891 when he was fined for disorderly behaviour at a picket by the union outside a shop in

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropolitan borough, it me ...

in a dispute over closing times. On May Day 1894 Tochatti was attacked while speaking on anarchism. In January 1894 Tochatti founded the anarchist monthly newspaper '' Liberty: A Journal of Anarchist Communism''. The paper was avowedly against political violence and "bombastic talk", arguing that it only served to alienate people from the anarchist cause. The paper was produced in the book-lined basement of Tochatti's shop on Beadon Road in Hammersmith. Though the paper was explicitly anarcho-communist it facilitated conversation between anarchists and anti-parliamentary socialists following the split of the Socialist League. In December 1896 he announced that he was suspending publication of the paper due to ill health, though finances were likely also a contributing factor. Tochatti continued to lecture in the 1900s and 1910s. He died in Poole,

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

on the 22 November 1928 aged 75.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tochatti, James Scottish anarchists People from Aberdeenshire British newspaper editors British tailors British trade unionists 1928 deaths 1852 births Socialist League (UK, 1885) members Phrenologists Physiognomists