Royal Greenwich Observatory Postcard c1902

Martial Bourdin (1868 – 15 February 1894) was a French

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

, noted for his attempt to bomb Greenwich Observatory. He sustained fatal injuries when his bomb exploded prematurely as he was carrying it through

Greenwich Park Greenwich Park is a former hunting park in Greenwich and one of the largest single green spaces in south-east London. One of the eight Royal Parks of London, and the first to be enclosed (in 1433), it covers , and is part of the Greenwich World H ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Biography

Bourdin was a member of the anarchist tailors' group L’Aiguille, along with his brother Henri. He emigrated from France, working as a women's tailor in Detroit and later London. In London, he and his brother were members of Club Autonomie, a popular club for foreign anarchists. On 15 February 1894 Bourdin entered Greenwich Park, carrying a small bomb, which exploded in his hand. The explosion completely destroyed his left hand and wrist, and blew a small hole through his abdomen. Although Bourdin had sustained massive injuries, he remained alive and able to speak, but refused to answer questions. He was carried to the Seamen's Hospital nearby, where he died 30 minutes later. Bourdin was buried in the Finchley Road cemetery on 23 February. Fellow Anarchist

Louise Michel Louise Michel (; 29 May 1830 – 9 January 1905) was a teacher and prominent figure during the Paris Commune. Following her penal transportation to New Caledonia she began to embrace anarchism, and upon her return to France she emerged as an im ...

gave a speech at the funeral. Later, police investigators discovered that Bourdin had left his room on Fitzroy Street in

and travelled by tram from

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

. The police concluded that "some mischance or miscalculation or some clumsy bungling" had caused the bomb to explode in Bourdin's hand. Because he was found with a large sum of money, the police speculated that he had planned to leave for France immediately. David Rooney argues that Bourdin intended to destroy the observatory's public clock, with which time clocks throughout Britain were synchronized.

Legacy

Bourdin's gruesome death and the mystery surrounding his attempted act inspired

Joseph Conrad Joseph Conrad (born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, ; 3 December 1857 – 3 August 1924) was a Poles in the United Kingdom#19th century, Polish-British novelist and story writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest writers in the Eng ...

's 1907 novel, '' The Secret Agent.'' Some scholars believe T. S. Eliot references Bourdin in his Ariel poem "Animula" when he writes "Pray...// For Boudin, blown to pieces," although Eliot uses the spelling "Boudin" and may not have had the anarchist in mind.Southam, B. C., A Guide to the Selected Poems of T.S. Eliot, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1994, p. 245.

Notes

References

*Cronin, Isaac. ''Confronting Fear: A History of Terrorism'' (New York: Thunder's Mouth, 2002) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bourdin, Martial 1868 births 1894 deaths 19th-century French criminals Accidental deaths in London Date of birth missing Deaths by explosive device French anarchists Place of birth missing

Biography

Legacy

Further reading

Notes

References