Thomas Hastie Bell (1867–1942) was a Scottish

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 ...

Biography

Thomas Hastie Bell was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

in 1867. Rudolf Rocker describes him as tall, red-haired with a bushy beard in his later years. In his youth he was a member of the Scottish Land and Labour League and in the 1880s through involvement with the Socialist League became an anarchist. While in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, he urged anarchists in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

for an open-air meeting and distributed handbills. In

Place de la République The Place de la République (; English: Republic Square; known until 1879 as the Place du Château d'Eau, ) is a square in Paris, located on the border between the 3rd, 10th and 11th arrondissements. The square has an area of .Warner, p. 250 ...

in a Sunday, amidst a big crowd and policemen, he climbed up a lamp-post and gave a speech. The police threatened him with prosecution for "insults to the Army and the law", but the authorities were not inclined to prosecute him. After two weeks in jail he was expelled as "too dangerous a man to be allowed loose in France". On the visit of Tsar Nicholas II to

Leith Leith (; ) is a port area in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith and is home to the Port of Leith. The earliest surviving historical references are in the royal charter authorising the construction of ...

on Tuesday 22 September 1896, Bell got through to the Tsar's carriage and shouted in his face "Down with the Russian tyrant! To hell with all the empires!" Again the British authorities decided not to prosecute him, because a Scottish jury would probably throw out any charges. In 1898 Bell left for London and was involved with the

Freedom Freedom is the power or right to speak, act, and change as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving oneself one's own laws". In one definition, something is "free" i ...

group there. Bell moved to New York in 1904 living with anarchist Charles B. Hooper and moving with his wife Lizzie Turner Bell and daughter Marion Bell, to Arizona in 1910. Bell was a well known anarchist who had friendships with

Emma Goldman Emma Goldman (June 27, 1869 – May 14, 1940) was a Russian-born Anarchism, anarchist revolutionary, political activist, and writer. She played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in North America and Europ ...

, Rudolf Rocker and

Peter Kropotkin Pyotr Alexeyevich Kropotkin (9 December 1842 – 8 February 1921) was a Russian anarchist and geographer known as a proponent of anarchist communism. Born into an aristocratic land-owning family, Kropotkin attended the Page Corps and later s ...

. Bell was also a close friend of

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

described Bell as "of whose propagandistic zeal and daring we had heard much in America". Bell died in 1942 aged 75.

Publications

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Notes

References

*''Anarchist Voices: An Oral History of Anarchism in America 1995'' by

Paul Avrich Paul Avrich (August 4, 1931 – February 16, 2006) was an American historian specializing in the 19th and early 20th-century anarchist movement in Russia and the United States. He taught at Queens College, City University of New York, for his ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Thomas Hastie 1867 births 1942 deaths 20th-century anarchists American anarchists Politicians from Edinburgh Scottish anarchists Scottish emigrants to the United States