William David McCalden (20 September 1951 – 15 October 1990) was a British

far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...

political activist. After moving to the United States, he was co-founder of the

Institute for Historical Review The Institute for Historical Review (IHR) is a United States–based nonprofit organization that promotes Holocaust denial. It is considered by many scholars to be central to the international Holocaust denial movement. Self-described as a "his ...

in 1978 and advocated

Holocaust denial Historical negationism, Denial of the Holocaust is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that asserts that the genocide of Jews by the Nazi Party, Nazis is a fabrication or exaggeration. It includes making one or more of the following false claims: ...

. McCalden died of

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

-related complications in 1990.

Early life

McCalden was born in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, Northern Ireland. He left Northern Ireland in 1972 to study at

Goldsmiths College Goldsmiths, University of London, formerly Goldsmiths College, University of London, is a Member institutions of the University of London, constituent research university of the University of London. It was originally founded in 1891 as The G ...

in London. During his time at University he was widely known as "revisionist Dave". McCalden was noted for his long hair and readiness to debate with

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...

fellow students. He graduated in 1974 with a Certificate in Education (Sociology).

Political life

McCalden first became involved in politics as a member of the National Front, where he became editor of the party newspaper ''Nationalist News''. A leading supporter of John Kingsley Read, McCalden transferred his allegiance to the National Party soon after Read and other NF members founded the party in 1976. He became a leading contributor to the party journal ''Britain First''. He was an active member of the

Hunt Saboteurs Association The Hunt Saboteurs Association (HSA) is a United Kingdom organisation that uses hunt sabotage as a means of direct action to stop fox hunting. It was founded in 1963, with its first sabotage event occurring at the South Devon Foxhounds on 26 ...

and edited their journal ''HOWL'' 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 included ''Beacon'', another journal, and allegedly the book ''Nuremberg & Other War Crimes Trials'' (1978), although this was initially written under the pseudonym Richard Harwood, one shared with another Holocaust denier Richard Verrall.

Emigration to US and Holocaust Revisionism

McCalden emigrated to the United States and arrived in California in 1978. After meeting

neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...

and

Holocaust denier Denial of the Holocaust is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that asserts that the genocide of Jews by the Nazis is a fabrication or exaggeration. It includes making one or more of the following false claims: *Nazi Germany's "Final Solution" wa ...

Willis Carto Willis Allison Carto (July 17, 1926 – October 26, 2015) was an Far right in the United States, American far-right political activist. He described himself as a Jeffersonian democracy, Jeffersonian and a Right-wing populism, populist, but wa ...

, the two men founded the

, of which McCalden was appointed Director and Editor-in-Chief (although he generally operated under the name Lewis Brandon in these roles). McCalden soon garnered a reputation as an advocate of

and became the leading organizational figure within the IHR. 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 the

Auschwitz Concentration Camp Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...

. After McCalden declined an acceptance by Auschwitz survivor

Mel Mermelstein Melvin Mermelstein (born Moric Mermelstein; September 25, 1926 – January 28, 2022) was a Czechoslovak-born American Holocaust survivor and autobiographer. A Jew, he was the sole survivor of his family's extermination at Auschwitz concentration ...

, a lawsuit was filed by public interest attorney

William John Cox William John "Billy Jack" Cox (born February 15, 1941) is an American public interest lawyer and author. Biography Early career Employed in 1962 by the El Cajon Police Department, he attended the nearby San Diego Police Department Academy. I ...

. In October 1981, a

Los Angeles County Superior Court The Superior Court of Los Angeles County is the California Superior Courts of California, Superior Court located in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County. It is the largest single unified trial court in the United States. The Sup ...

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." McCalden and Carto had a falling out over the case, and in 1981 McCalden left the IHR.

Death

On 15 October 1990, at the age of 39, McCalden died in

El Segundo, California El Segundo ( , ; ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located on Santa Monica Bay, it was incorporated on January 18, 1917, and is part of the South Bay Cities Council of Governments. The population was 17,272 as of t ...

, from complications due to

viral pneumonia Viral pneumonia is a pneumonia caused by a virus. Pneumonia is an infection that causes inflammation in one or both lungs. The pulmonary alveoli fill with fluid or pus making it difficult to breathe. Pneumonia can be caused by bacteria, viruses, ...

caused by

. He had been suffering from AIDS since November 1988.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCalden, David 1951 births 1990 deaths British Holocaust deniers Far-right politicians from Northern Ireland AIDS-related deaths in California Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London National Front (UK) politicians Politicians from Belfast Strasserism People from El Segundo, California 20th-century politicians from Northern Ireland Holocaust denial in the United States