Louis Lingg
Encyclopedia
Louis Lingg was a German anarchist who committed suicide
while in jail, after being arrested as an agitator
during the Haymarket Square bombing.
, in Alsace
, then moved on to Fribourg, Germany where he joined the Working Men's Educational Society, a socialist organization.
ordered him to leave the country. He then received a letter from his mother telling him that her new husband was willing to provide him with enough money to move to the United States.
then departed for Chicago, Illinois where he joined the International Carpenters and Joiners' Union. He arrived in Chicago seven months before the riots.
was sentenced to fifteen years in prison.
Lingg spoke out when he heard court's decision: "I die happy on the gallows, so confident am I that the hundreds and thousands to whom I have spoken will remember my words. When you shall have hanged us, then they Will do the bombthrowing! In this hope do I say to you, I despise you, I despise your order, your laws, your force propped authority. Hang me for it."
On November 6, 1887, four bombs were discovered in Lingg's cell. Lingg commited suicide
on November 10, 1887, the day before he was scheduled to hang. He used a blasting cap
smuggled to him by a fellow prisoner. He put it in his mouth and lit it at 9:00 AM. It blew off his lower jaw and damaged a large portion of his face. He survived for another 6 hours, until his death at around 3:00 PM.
Lingg was buried, in a plot marked since 1893 by the Haymarket Martyrs Monument, in the Waldheim Cemetery
(now Forest Home Cemetery) in Forest Park, Illinois
.
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
while in jail, after being arrested as an agitator
Agitator
An agitator is a person who actively supports some ideology or movement with speeches and especially actions. The Agitators were a political movement as well as elected representatives of soldiers, including the New Model Army of Oliver Cromwell, during the English Civil War. They were also known...
during the Haymarket Square bombing.
Birth
He was born on September 9, 1864 in Mannheim, Germany to Friedrich Lingg. His father was injured in the lumber mill where he worked. Louis wrote in his autobiography: "At this time I was thirteen and my sister seven years old, and at this age I received my first impressions of the prevailing unjust social institutions, i.e., the exploitation of men by men."Carpenter
Lingg became an apprentice carpenter from 1869 to 1882. He then took a job in StrasbourgStrasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
, in Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
, then moved on to Fribourg, Germany where he joined the Working Men's Educational Society, a socialist organization.
Switzerland
To avoid military service, he moved to Switzerland, but in the spring of 1885, the police in ZurichZürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
ordered him to leave the country. He then received a letter from his mother telling him that her new husband was willing to provide him with enough money to move to the United States.
United States
In July 1885, Lingg arrived in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
then departed for Chicago, Illinois where he joined the International Carpenters and Joiners' Union. He arrived in Chicago seven months before the riots.
Haymarket Square
On May 4, 1886, Lingg was not present at Haymarket Square for what would be known as the Haymarket Riot. A bomb was thrown into the crowd of policemen by an unidentified person. Seven men were arrested the next day with no evidence in connection with the bombing. Lingg himself was discovered in his hiding place on May 14, 1886 and fought with the police officer before being finally subdued by his landlord.Trial and suicide
There was no evidence that any of the men arrested had participated in the bombing, but they were all charged on June 21, 1886 with criminal conspiracy, on the theory that their anarchistic writings incited the bomber. Lingg and six others were convicted and sentenced to death. Oscar NeebeOscar Neebe
Oscar William Neebe I was an anarchist, labor activist and one of the defendants in the Haymarket bombing trial.-Early life:...
was sentenced to fifteen years in prison.
Lingg spoke out when he heard court's decision: "I die happy on the gallows, so confident am I that the hundreds and thousands to whom I have spoken will remember my words. When you shall have hanged us, then they Will do the bombthrowing! In this hope do I say to you, I despise you, I despise your order, your laws, your force propped authority. Hang me for it."
On November 6, 1887, four bombs were discovered in Lingg's cell. Lingg commited suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
on November 10, 1887, the day before he was scheduled to hang. He used a blasting cap
Blasting cap
A blasting cap is a small sensitive primary explosive device generally used to detonate a larger, more powerful and less sensitive secondary explosive such as TNT, dynamite, or plastic explosive....
smuggled to him by a fellow prisoner. He put it in his mouth and lit it at 9:00 AM. It blew off his lower jaw and damaged a large portion of his face. He survived for another 6 hours, until his death at around 3:00 PM.
Lingg was buried, in a plot marked since 1893 by the Haymarket Martyrs Monument, in the Waldheim Cemetery
German Waldheim Cemetery
German Waldheim Cemetery, also known as Waldheim Cemetery, was a cemetery in Forest Park, a suburb of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois. It was originally founded in 1873 as a non-religion specific cemetery, where Freemasons, Roma, and German-speaking immigrants to Chicago could be buried without...
(now Forest Home Cemetery) in Forest Park, Illinois
Forest Park, Illinois
Forest Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago in the United States. The population was 15,688 at the 2000 census...
.
Further reading
- The Proud Tower: A Portrait of the World, 1890-1914, Barbara Tuchman, Ballantine Books, New York, 1996 ISBN 0345405013