Voltairine De Cleyre

Voltairine de Cleyre (née De Claire; November 17, 1866 – June 20, 1912) was an American anarchist feminist writer and public speaker. Born into extreme poverty in Michigan, de Cleyre taught herself how to read and write, and became a lover of poetry. She was educated at a Catholic convent, which improved her literary and linguistic capabilities, but also influenced her turn towards anti-theism and anti-authoritarianism. After graduating, de Cleyre began her activist career in the freethought movement, lecturing around the country and writing for a number of rationalist publications. Drawn towards socialism and individualist anarchism, she converted fully to anarchism in the wake of the Haymarket affair, which radicalized her against the state and capitalism. She moved to Philadelphia, where she lived for most of her adult life and taught many of the city's Jewish anarchists. By the late 1890s, de Cleyre was a leading figure in the American anarchist movement, regularly speaking at events, writing for publications and organizing anarchist groups. She also went on a lecture tour of the United Kingdom, during which she was introduced to Spanish anarchists, who influenced her adoption of the philosophy of anarchism without adjectives and her later defense of propaganda of the deed.