Charles H. Kerr
Photograph of a middle-aged man with a beard and moustache, wearing a coat and tie. The signature "Charles H. Kerr" appears beneath the photo.
Publisher Charles H. Kerr (circa 1895)
Born(1860-04-23)April 23, 1860
DiedJune 1, 1944(1944-06-01) (aged 84)
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Publisher, editor, writer
Known forCharles H. Kerr Publishing Company

Charles Hope Kerr (April 23, 1860 – June 1, 1944),[1] was an American publisher and editor. A son of abolitionists, he was a vegetarian and Unitarian in 1886 when he established Charles H. Kerr & Co. in Chicago. His publishing career is noted for his views' leftward progression toward socialism and support for the Industrial Workers of the World.

Biography

Early life

Charles' father, Alexander Kerr was born in Fetterangus, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. He was the son of George and Helen Legge Kerr. When he was about seven the family emigrated first to Canada, and then three years later in 1838 to Illinois, in the United States of America.

Career

Kerr started his career at a Unitarian publisher and joined the staff of the Unity magazine in the mid-1880s. To support the magazine, he eventually established his own publishing house Charles H. Kerr & Co. in 1893. Influenced by the US People's Party, Kerr began to publish more political works on topics like land reform, including a new monthly magazine New Occasions.

In January 1900, Algie Martin Simons was hired by Kerr to launch a new, more explicitly socialist magazine, what would become the International Socialist Review. Over the years, Kerr's company became a leading publisher of socialist, communist, anarchist, and Wobbly works.[2] In 1908, Kerr fired Simons and assumed responsibility for the International Socialist Review when it was a major left-wing voice within the Socialist Party of America.

Industrial Socialism by Bill Haywood, published by Charles Kerr in 1911

Kerr was noted for his translation from the French of the radical workers' anthem, "The Internationale;" his version became the English words sung in the United States (although a different, anonymous English translation is sung in Britain and Ireland). Kerr's version was widely circulated in the Little Red Songbook of the Industrial Workers of the World.

Kerr was active in partisan politics as well. He was on the National Campaign Committee of the Social Democratic Party of America and later the Socialist Party of America. He was on the executive committee of the Socialist Party of Chicago, including a brief stint as treasurer. He was secretary of the Socialist Party of Illinois in 1902.[3]

Vegetarianism

Kerr was a vegetarian and his company published J. Howard Moore's The Universal Kinship.[4][5]

Works

Articles:

  • "What Socialism Is," International Socialist Review, (1917)[6]

Compilations:

  • Unity songs resung (1884)[7]

Translations:

References

  1. ↑ Charles H. Kerr & Co., Encyclopedia of Chicago
  2. ↑ Ruff, Allen (2011). We called each other comrade : Charles H. Kerr & Company, radical publishers. Oakland, CA: PM Press. ISBN 9781604864267.
  3. ↑ We Called Each Other Comrade: Charles H. Kerr & Company, Radical Publishers. PM Press. 2011-07-01. pp. 21–. ISBN 9781604865721.
  4. ↑ Buhle, Mari Jo; Buhle, Paul; Georgakas, Dan. (1990). Encyclopedia of the American Left. Garland Publishing. p. 41. ISBN 9780824047818
  5. ↑ Gregerson, Jon. (1994). Vegetarianism: A History. Jain Publishing Company. p. 94. ISBN 978-0875730301
  6. ↑ Kerr, Charles H. (October 1917). "What Socialism Is". International Socialist Review: 197–200.
  7. ↑ Charles H. Kerr, ed. (1885). Unity songs resung. Colegrove book company. LCCN 34040195.
  8. ↑ Lafargue, Paul (1907). The right to be lazy, and other studies. Translated by Charles H. Kerr. C. H. Kerr & Company. LCCN 07023081.

Bibliography

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