George Engel
Encyclopedia
George Engel was an anarchist and labor union activist executed after the Haymarket riot, along with Albert Parsons
, August Spies
, and Adolph Fischer
.
. He lived for a short time with a foster family
, but at the age of 14 was forced to look for work. He was apprenticed to a shoemaker, but was unable to afford the dues.
He travelled to Frankfurt and finally found work as a painter's apprentice. He travelled around Germany
working, and in 1868 opened a business of his own. He married the same year, but found that the economic conditions in Germany made survival difficult, and so decided to follow his boyhood dream of emigrating to the United States
. He left Germany in 1872, arriving first in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
in January 1873, where he worked in a sugar refinery. In 1874, he left Philadelphia and moved to Chicago, Illinois, where he later, in 1876, was to open his own toyshop.
when one of his coworkers took him to a meeting of the International Workingmen's Association
. He soon joined. In 1878, a crack down on socialist organizations lead to the dissolution of the IWA, but Engel was instrumental in forming another organization, the Socialistic Labor Party of North America, and finally, in 1882 he joined the new International Working People's Association.
police stations and shoot policeman should trouble occur. Engel claims it was a meeting only "in which it was proposed to give aid to any strikers if the police or the Pinkertons should attack said strikers."
The following night, May 4, as the bombing took place, Engel was not in Haymarket Square, but was at home playing cards. Nevertheless he was arrested the next day and charged with conspiracy
in the bombings. At 50, he was the oldest of the defendants to stand trial. He was convicted and was sentenced to be hanged
. After hearing in 1887 that several letters had been written from Samuel Fielden
and Michael Schwab
to Illinois Governor Richard James Oglesby
, Engel wrote his own letter asking the governor not to consider any clemency.
.
Engel was buried, in a plot marked since 1893 by the Haymarket Martyrs Monument, in the Waldheim Cemetery
(now Forest Home Cemetery) in Forest Park
, Chicago
.
Albert Parsons
Albert Richard Parsons was a pioneer American socialist and later anarchist newspaper editor, orator, and labor activist...
, August Spies
August Spies
August Vincent Theodore Spies was an anarchist labor activist who was found guilty of conspiracy and hanged following a bomb attack on police at the Haymarket affair.-Background:...
, and Adolph Fischer
Adolph Fischer
Adolph Fischer was an anarchist and labor union activist tried and executed after the Haymarket Riot.-Early life:...
.
Early life
George Engel was born to an impoverished family with three other children. His father, Konrad, a mason and bricklayer, died when he was less than two years old. His mother died when he was 12, leaving him an orphanOrphan
An orphan is a child permanently bereaved of or abandoned by his or her parents. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents is called an orphan...
. He lived for a short time with a foster family
Foster care
Foster care is the term used for a system in which a minor who has been made a ward is placed in the private home of a state certified caregiver referred to as a "foster parent"....
, but at the age of 14 was forced to look for work. He was apprenticed to a shoemaker, but was unable to afford the dues.
He travelled to Frankfurt and finally found work as a painter's apprentice. He travelled around Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
working, and in 1868 opened a business of his own. He married the same year, but found that the economic conditions in Germany made survival difficult, and so decided to follow his boyhood dream of emigrating to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He left Germany in 1872, arriving first in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
in January 1873, where he worked in a sugar refinery. In 1874, he left Philadelphia and moved to Chicago, Illinois, where he later, in 1876, was to open his own toyshop.
Activism
Working at a factory, Engel first became acquainted with socialismSocialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
when one of his coworkers took him to a meeting of the International Workingmen's Association
International Workingmen's Association
The International Workingmen's Association , sometimes called the First International, was an international organization which aimed at uniting a variety of different left-wing socialist, communist and anarchist political groups and trade union organizations that were based on the working class...
. He soon joined. In 1878, a crack down on socialist organizations lead to the dissolution of the IWA, but Engel was instrumental in forming another organization, the Socialistic Labor Party of North America, and finally, in 1882 he joined the new International Working People's Association.
Haymarket Square
On May 3, 1886, after hearing about the massacre at the McCormick Plant earlier that day, he attended a meeting at Grief's Hall. This meeting, later dubbed by prosecutors the "Monday Night Conspiracy", was used to prove that there was a conspiracy in the bombing at the Haymarket. A witness claimed that Engel had arranged a plan to storm and/or dynamiteDynamite
Dynamite is an explosive material based on nitroglycerin, initially using diatomaceous earth , or another absorbent substance such as powdered shells, clay, sawdust, or wood pulp. Dynamites using organic materials such as sawdust are less stable and such use has been generally discontinued...
police stations and shoot policeman should trouble occur. Engel claims it was a meeting only "in which it was proposed to give aid to any strikers if the police or the Pinkertons should attack said strikers."
The following night, May 4, as the bombing took place, Engel was not in Haymarket Square, but was at home playing cards. Nevertheless he was arrested the next day and charged with conspiracy
Conspiracy (crime)
In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...
in the bombings. At 50, he was the oldest of the defendants to stand trial. He was convicted and was sentenced to be hanged
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
. After hearing in 1887 that several letters had been written from Samuel Fielden
Samuel Fielden
Samuel Fielden was a socialist, anarchist and labor activist who was one of eight convicted in the 1886 Haymarket bombing.-Early life:...
and Michael Schwab
Michael Schwab
Michael Schwab was a German-American labor organizer and one of the defendants in the Haymarket Square incident.-Early years:...
to Illinois Governor Richard James Oglesby
Richard James Oglesby
Richard James Oglesby was an Illinois statesman and U.S. Army officer. He served in the Mexican-American War and was a major general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He also served Illinois in the legislature. Near the end of the civil war, he was elected the 14th Governor of...
, Engel wrote his own letter asking the governor not to consider any clemency.
Death
Engel was hanged with three others of the condemned on November 11, 1887. His last words were reportedly "Hurrah for anarchy! This is the happiest moment of my life", screamed from the gallows in his native GermanGerman language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
.
Engel was buried, in a plot marked since 1893 by the Haymarket Martyrs Monument, in the Waldheim Cemetery
German Waldheim Cemetery
German Waldheim Cemetery, also known as Waldheim Cemetery, was a cemetery in Forest Park, a suburb of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois. It was originally founded in 1873 as a non-religion specific cemetery, where Freemasons, Roma, and German-speaking immigrants to Chicago could be buried without...
(now Forest Home Cemetery) in Forest Park
Forest Park, Illinois
Forest Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago in the United States. The population was 15,688 at the 2000 census...
, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
.
Further reading
- Address of George Engel The Accused, the accusers: the famous speeches of the eight Chicago anarchists in court when asked if they had anything to say why sentence should not be passed upon them. On October 7, 8 and 9, 1886, Chicago, Illinois.
- Meet the Haymarket Defendants
- David, Henry. The History of the Haymarket Affair. New York: Collier Books, 1963.
See also
- Dyer LumDyer LumDyer Daniel Lum was a 19th-century American anarchist labor activist and poet. A leading anarcho-syndicalist and a prominent left-wing intellectual of the 1880s, he is remembered as the lover and mentor of early anarcha-feminist Voltairine de Cleyre.Lum was a prolific writer who wrote a number of...