biographies
Biographies and autobiographies of key historical figures and thinkers, and ordinary people who have tried to change the world.
Matiushenko, Afanasy Nikolaevich 1879-1907
A biography of Afanasy Matiushenko, who was one of the key mutineers on the Battleship Potemkin, immortalised by Eisenstein's film, which helped kick-start the 1905 Revolution.
Afanasy Nikolaevich Matiushenko
Also spelled Afanasiy Matyushenko, born 1879 - Kharkov, Russia, died 20 October 1907 - Sevastopol, Russia
The Potemkin mutineer
Afanasy Matiushenko was the son of peasants from Kharkov province in the Ukraine. He was born in 1879, in the village of Dergachi. His father had to give up the unrewarding work of farming to become a shoemaker.
Salamé Miro, José, 1920-2007
A short biography of José Salamé Miro, militant of Spanish origin active in France and the Spanish Revolution.
José Salamé Miro was born in the small village of Vinebra in the Catalan province of Tarragona. His childhood was spent in Barcelona. His father was a saddler and sympathetic to the CNT, attending the libertarian ateneo of the neighbourhood. Jose was a choir boy as a child, but as he grew he started moving towards anarchist ideas. He became a member of the CNT and the Libertarian Youth (FIJL).
Schwab, Alexander aka Sachs, 1887 -1943
A short biography of council communist and organiser of underground networks, Alexander Schwab, who died in a Nazi concentration camp.
Born on the 5th July 1887, at Stuttgart, Alexander Schwab was the son of a choir master. He studied at the Universities of Rostock, Jena, Heidelberg and Freiburg in philosophy, ancient languages, political economy and sociology. He was a member of the Free Students movement.
Weiland, Alfred, 1906-1978
A short biography of council communist, organiser of underground network, Alfred Weiland, kidnapped by the East German state in the post war period
Alfred Weiland was born on 7th August 1906 in the Moabit district of Berlin. He apprenticed as a fitter. He later worked as a telegraph worker.
In 1925 he was for a short time a member of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) which in Berlin had a more “left” outlook than elsewhere. Soon after he joined the communist KAPD and AAU.
Ferrero, Pietro, 1892- 1922
A short biography of Pietro Ferrero who, with Maurizio Garino, was one of the anarchists at the head of the factory councils movement in Turin.
Pietro Ferrero was born at Grugliasco in Turin on 12th May 1892.
Garino, Maurizio, 1892-1977
A short biography of Maurizio Garino, one of the leading anarchist animators of the Italian factory council movement.
Maurizio Garino was born in November 1892, the son of Michele and Nicoletta Chiglioni in Ploaghe, Sardinia.
In 1895 the family moved to Turin and in 1900 to Cassine. After elementary school and a short stay in a religious school Maurizio became an apprentice carpenter and then a pattern-maker mechanic.
Del Papa, Ugo, 1875-1916
A short biography of Ugo Del Papa who was, with Alberto Meschi, one of the founders of anarchism in the marble town of Carrara in Italy.
Ugo Del Papa was, with Alberto Meschi, one of the founders of anarchism in the marble town of Carrara in Italy. He was born on 18th September 1875, the son of Romualdo and Lucia Pracchia. He became close to the anarchist movement from an early age. According to the police he was an enthusiastic “propagator of those criminal theories”.
Lefeuvre, René and Editions Spartacus
A history of Spartacus publishing in France, with biographical information about its founder, René Lefeuvre.
Born in Brittany in 1902, René Lefeuvre, started work at 16, his father teaching him his trade as an artisan mason.
Covelli, Emilio aka Mephistopheles, 1846 -1915
A short biography of pioneering Italian anarchist-communist Emilio Covelli.
Born in Trani into a family of wealthy aristocrats on 5th August 1846 Emilio was a classmate of Carlo Cafiero in Molfetta.
He studied for a law degree at the University of Naples in 1868 and then continued to study in Germany at the Universities of Heidelberg and Berlin. Here, according to Cafiero, he “tore off his bourgeois hide” and moved towards socialism.
Failla, Alfonso, 1906-1986
A short biography of inspirer of the Siracusa uprising, fighter in the resistance and a key figure in the rebuilding of the Italian anarchist movement after World War II, Alfonso Failla.
Alfonso Failla was born in Siracusa, Sicily on 30th July 1906. He was drawn to the anarchist movement and was heavily involved in the activity of the movement.
