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David McCalden | |
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 McCalden in 1980 | |
| Born | (1951-09-20)20 September 1951 Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Died | 15 October 1990(1990-10-15) (aged 39) El Segundo, California, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Involvement in British politics and Holocaust denial |
William David McCalden (20 September 1951 – 15 October 1990) was a Britishfar-right political activist. After moving to the United States, he was co-founder of theInstitute for Historical Review in 1978 and advocatedHolocaust denial. McCalden died ofAIDS-related complications in 1990.
McCalden was born inBelfast, Northern Ireland. He left Northern Ireland in 1972 to study atGoldsmiths College in London. During his time at University he was widely known as "revisionist Dave".[citation needed] McCalden was noted for his long hair and readiness to debate withleft-wing fellow students. He graduated in 1974 with a Certificate in Education (Sociology).[citation needed]
McCalden first became involved in politics as a member of theNational Front, where he became editor of the party newspaperNationalist News. A leading supporter ofJohn Kingsley Read, McCalden transferred his allegiance to theNational Party soon after Read and other NF members founded the party in 1976. He became a leading contributor to the party journalBritain First. He was an active member of theHunt Saboteurs Association and edited their journalHOWL for a couple of years. He was expelled from the HSA in June 1978, after a debate and vote at their Newcastle AGM, for his contributions to "racist magazines". His other works at this time includedBeacon, another journal, and allegedly the bookNuremberg & Other War Crimes Trials (1978), although this was initially written under the pseudonym Richard Harwood, one shared with another Holocaust denierRichard Verrall.[citation needed]
McCalden emigrated to the United States and arrived in California in 1978. After meetingneo-Nazi andHolocaust denier[1]Willis Carto, the two men founded theInstitute for Historical Review, of which McCalden was appointed Director and Editor-in-Chief (although he generally operated under the nameLewis Brandon in these roles). McCalden soon garnered a reputation as an advocate ofHolocaust denial and became the leading organizational figure within the IHR.[citation needed]
In 1980, acting as "Lewis Brandon" and on behalf of the IHR, McCalden offered a $50,000 reward for proof that Jews were gassed to death in theAuschwitz Concentration Camp. After McCalden declined an acceptance by Auschwitz survivorMel Mermelstein, a lawsuit was filed by public interest attorneyWilliam John Cox. In October 1981, aLos Angeles County Superior Court judge ruled that "this court does take judicial notice of the fact that Jews were gassed to death at Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Poland during the summer of 1944." The judge went on to say, "It is simply a fact."[2][3] McCalden and Carto had a falling out over the case, and in 1981 McCalden left the IHR.
On 15 October 1990, at the age of 39, McCalden died inEl Segundo, California, from complications due toviral pneumonia caused byAIDS. He had been suffering from AIDS since November 1988.[4]
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