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Charles H. Kerr

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For other people named Charles Kerr, see Charles Kerr (disambiguation).
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.
Kerr c. 1895
Born
Charles Hope Kerr

(1860-04-23)April 23, 1860
LaGrange, Georgia, U.S.
DiedJune 1, 1944(1944-06-01) (aged 84)
Los Angeles, U.S.
Alma materUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison
Occupation(s)Publisher, editor, writer
Known forCharles H. Kerr Publishing Company
Spouse
May Walden
​
​
(m. 1892; div. 1904)​
Children1
Signature

Charles Hope Kerr (April 23, 1860 – June 1, 1944) was an American publisher, editor and writer. 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

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Early life and education

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Charles Hope Kerr was born in LaGrange, Georgia, on April 23, 1860.[1] He was the son of Alexander Kerr, a Scotsman who immigrated with his family to Illinois in 1838.[2] His parents were abolitionists.[3] When the Civil War broke out, the Kerr family escaped to safety in the North via the Underground Railroad.[2]

In 1871, his father accepted the role of chairman of the Classics Department at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Charles spent his childhood in Rockford, Illinois, and Madison, Wisconsin, eventually graduating from the University of Wisconsin in 1881 with a degree in ancient languages. He later made his home in Chicago.[2]

Career

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Kerr began 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 Industrial Workers of the World works.[4] 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).[citation needed] Kerr's version was widely circulated in the Little Red Songbook of the Industrial Workers of the World.[citation needed]

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.[5]

Personal life

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Kerr married May Walden in 1892. She was a temperance activist and feminist who further radicalised Kerr.[6] She also wrote on women's rights, social injustices, and political issues. The couple had a daughter before divorcing in 1904.[7]

Death

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Kerr retired to Los Angeles and died there on June 1, 1944.[2]

Vegetarianism

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Kerr was a vegetarian and his company published J. Howard Moore's The Universal Kinship.[8][9]

Works

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Articles:

  • "What Socialism Is," International Socialist Review, (1917)[10]

Compilations:

  • Unity songs resung (1884)[11]

Translations:

References

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  1. ^ Ruff, Allen (2011-07-01). "Charles H. Kerr: Early Years, Early Influences". "We Called Each Other Comrade": Charles H. Kerr & Company, Radical Publishers. PM Press. ISBN 978-1-60486-572-1.
  2. ^ a b c d Sawyers, June Skinner (1991). Chicago Portraits: Biographies of 250 Famous Chicagoans. Chicago: Loyola University Press. pp. 142–143. ISBN 978-0-8294-0700-6 – via Internet Archive.
  3. ^ Rosemont, Penelope (2005), "Charles H. Kerr & Co.", Encyclopedia of Chicago, Chicago: Chicago History Museum and the Newberry Library, retrieved 2024-08-22
  4. ^ Ruff, Allen (2011). We called each other comrade : Charles H. Kerr & Company, radical publishers. Oakland, CA: PM Press. ISBN 9781604864267.
  5. ^ We Called Each Other Comrade: Charles H. Kerr & Company, Radical Publishers. PM Press. 2011-07-01. pp. 21–. ISBN 9781604865721.[permanent dead link‍]
  6. ^ Duda, John (2019-02-27). "A brief history of the Charles H. Kerr Publishing Company". AREA Chicago Archive. Retrieved 2024-08-22.
  7. ^ "May Walden papers, 1869-1972 (bulk 1892-1959)". Newberry Library. Retrieved 2024-08-22.
  8. ^ Buhle, Mari Jo; Buhle, Paul; Georgakas, Dan. (1990). Encyclopedia of the American Left. Garland Publishing. p. 41. ISBN 9780824047818
  9. ^ Gregerson, Jon. (1994). Vegetarianism: A History. Jain Publishing Company. p. 94. ISBN 978-0875730301
  10. ^ Kerr, Charles H. (October 1917). "What Socialism Is". International Socialist Review: 197–200.
  11. ^ Charles H. Kerr, ed. (1885). Unity songs resung. Colegrove book company. LCCN 34040195.
  12. ^ 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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