William MacQueen (14 January 1875 – 9 November 1908) was a British
anarchist
Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...
, trade unionist, newspaper editor and public speaker.
Biography
MacQueen was born on 14 January 1875 in London, England. His father, Robert MacQueen, was a painter. William MacQueen began working as a painter, later working as a commercial traveller.
In 1895 MacQueen married Nellie Barton in 1895, the sister of his friend and fellow anarchist
Alf Barton
Alfred Barton (30 July 1868 – 9 December 1933) was a British socialist politician.
Early life
Born in Kempston in Bedfordshire, Barton began working in a library at the age of twelve. He joined the Socialist League at some point in the 1 ...
.
From 1898 to 1899 he edited the
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 populati ...
-based monthly anarchist paper ''The Free Commune''. MacQueen was a fluent German speaker and in 1901 translated the book ''Communist Anarchism'' by
Johann Most
Johann Joseph "Hans" Most (February 5, 1846 – March 17, 1906) was a German-American Social Democratic and then anarchism, anarchist politician, newspaper editor, and orator. He is credited with popularizing the concept of "propaganda of the dee ...
.
MacQueen emigrated to New York City, began working as a
proofreader
Proofreading is the reading of a galley proof or an electronic copy of a publication to find and correct reproduction errors of text or art. Proofreading is the final step in the editorial cycle before publication.
Professional
Traditional m ...
, and from 1902 to 1903 edited the anarchist 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 ...
''.
He was an agitator and public speaker during the
Paterson silk strike of 1902 where he was arrested alongside
Rudolf Grossmann and
Luigi Galleani
Luigi Galleani (; 1861–1931) was an Italian anarchist active in the United States from 1901 to 1919. He is best known for his enthusiastic advocacy of "propaganda of the deed", i.e. the use of violence to eliminate those he viewed as tyrants ...
for inciting a riot. MacQueen fled on bail to the United Kingdom, but later returned to face trial, was sentenced to five years and fined $1500. While in prison he was interviewed by