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George Engel |
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George Engel, born 1836, died November 11, 1887. Engel was an anarchist and labor union activist executed after the Haymarket riot. He immigrated to the United States from Germany in 1872 arriving first in Philadelphia, taking employment at a factory where he became acquainted with socialism. In 1978 he left Philadelphia and moved to Chicago and joined the newly formed International Working People's Association. The Haymarket Tragedy on 4 May 1886 in Chicago, Illinois is the origin of international May Day observances and in popular literature inspired the caricature of "the bomb-throwing anarchist". The causes of the incident are still controversial, although deeply polarized attitudes separating the business and working communities in late 19th century Chicago are generally acknowledged as having precipitated the tragedy and its aftermath. The incident led to a round-up of local anarchists, mass hysteria about anarchists fueled by the boss press, and the eventual execution of the Haymarket Martyrs. |