Harvey O'Connor | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1897-03-29)March 29, 1897 |
| Died | August 29, 1987(1987-08-29) (aged 90) |
| Occupation(s) | Journalist, activist, author |
| Years active | 1915–1964 |
| Known for | Activist in1919 Seattle General Strike |
| Notable work | Memoirs about early 20th Century politics inWashington state |
| Political party | CPUSA |
| Movement | Communist, Socialist |
| Spouse | Jessie Lloyd O'Connor |
Harvey O'Connor (29 March 1897 – 29 August 1987) was an American radicaljournalist,newspaper editor, author, and political activist. The author of nearly a dozen books in his lifetime, O'Connor is best remembered for his activity in the1919 Seattle General Strike and as a memoirist about early 20th Century politics inWashington state.
Harvey O'Connor was born March 29, 1897, inMinneapolis, Minnesota, the son of a railway cook.[1] He attendedpublic school in neighboringSt. Paul before relocating with his family toTacoma, Washington, where he completedhigh school in 1914.[1]
Owing to the death of his father and his mother's need for financial support, O'Connor went to work in various lumber camps as alogger after graduation rather than continuing his education.[2] There he joined theIndustrial Workers of the World,[2] a radicalindustrial union espousing the doctrine ofsyndicalism — the overthrow ofcapitalism in favor of rule by industrially defined workers organizations.
O'Connor was the editor of the left wingSeattle Daily Call during its short-lived existence in 1917 and 1918.[1] Thereafter, he took a position as the editor and business manager of theFarmer-Labor Call ofCentralia, Washington.[1]
During the1919 Seattle General Strike which shut down the city for nearly a week during the month of February, O'Connor played a role producing leaflets and agitating on behalf of the strike. His activities caught the attention of the authorities, which subsequently indicted him forcriminal anarchy. O'Connor was never brought to trial, however, owing to the loss of atest case by the state on a similar complaint.[1]
In 1921, O'Connor went to work as a department editor at theSeattle Union Record, a daily produced by the Seattlelabor movement under the editorship of his friendE.B. "Harry" Ault. He stayed with this paper until 1924.[1]
In 1924, O'Connor left theUnion Record to move toCleveland, Ohio, to take a position as assistant editor of theBrotherhood of Locomotive Engineers' Journal, the monthly magazine of theBLE.[1]
O'Connor next went toNew York City in 1927 to head the New York bureau of theFederated Press, a left wing press agency which supplied material to newspapers of the labor movement and left wing political organizations around the country. He remained in this position until 1930.[2] When he joined the newspaper,Whittaker Chambers later realized that "Harvey O'Connor was then effective editor of theDaily Worker."[3]
In later years, O'Connor was a professional author, writing a number of non-fiction books accentuating the lifestyles of the rich and powerful and the difficult situation of theworking class for commercial publishers. Some of his publications includeMellon's Millions,The Astors,The Guggenheims,History of the Oil Workers International, andThe Empire of Oil.[2]
O'Connor remained politically active throughout his life, serving as chairman of theEmergency Civil Liberties Committee from 1954 to 1963 and as chairman of the National Committee to Abolish theHouse Un-American Activities Committee in 1964.[2]
O'Connor was a sponsor of theFair Play for Cuba Committee.[4]
In 1964, O'Connor published his memoirs, regarded by historians as an important work detailing the history of theradical movement of Washington state during the first decades of the 20th century.
O'Connor marriedJessie Lloyd O'Connor, a fellow journalist and social activist, born in Winnetka, Illinois, on February 14, 1904, and granddaughter ofHenry Demarest Lloyd (1847–1903), a 19th-century American progressive political activist and pioneer muckraking journalist.[5]
On August 29, 1987, he died of heart failure at his home inLittle Compton, Rhode Island. (Jesse died a little over a year later on December 24, 1988, in Fall River, Massachusetts.)[5]
O'Connor's papers reside atBrown University inProvidence, Rhode Island.
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