Voltairine de Cleyre was an American anarchist feminist writer and public speaker.
De Cleyre in 1901
Illustration of the Haymarket affair
de Cleyre, Christmas 1891
Emma Goldman, with whom de Cleyre would have a personal feud for most of her life
The Haymarket Affair was a bombing that took place at a labor demonstration on May 4, 1886, at Haymarket Square in Chicago. The rally began peacefully in support of workers striking for an eight-hour
Voltairine de Cleyre
…for a number of rationalist publications. Drawn towards socialism and individualist anarchism, she converted fully to anarchism in the wake of the Haymarket affair, which radicalized her against the state and capitalism. She moved to Philadelphia, where she lived for most of her adult life and taught many of the…
Engraving of police officer Mathias J. Degan, who was killed by the bomb blast
Engraving of the seven anarchists sentenced to die for Degan's murder. An eighth defendant, Oscar Neebe, not shown here, was sentenced to 15 years in prison.