Austin Lewis

Austin M. Lewis (April 7, 1865 – June 26, 1944) was an English-born socialist author, translator, labor lawyer, and politician. After emigrating to Northern California in 1890, he became active in socialist causes. He created the first English translations of works by Friedrich Engels. Among his own books, the best known was The Militant Proletariat. He ran on the Socialist Party ticket for California governor in 1906, and for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1910. As a lawyer, he sought pardons for Thomas Mooney and Warren K. Billings, and defended members of the IWW. He helped found the Northern California affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

Biography Austin Lewis was born into a Jewish family in Garston, Lancashire, England in 1865. His father was a schoolmaster. Austin attended the University of London where he obtained a bachelor's degree and law degree. As a student, he was influenced by the writings of English socialist William Morris.

In 1890, Lewis emigrated to California and settled in the Bay Area. His first job was teaching Classics at the Tamalpais Military Academy in San Rafael, where he remained until 1898. He ran again on the Socialist ticket in the 1910 U.S. House elections—he was vying to represent California's 4th congressional district—and finished in third place with 6.5%.

At the start of the 20th century, Lewis was a prolific writer. He authored books such as The Church and Socialism (1906), The Rise of the American Proletarian (1907), and The Militant Proletariat (1911). He also created the first English translations of works by Friedrich Engels and Karl Kautsky. Historian Allen Ruff said of The Militant Proletariat that Lewis:

Lewis's support for industrial unionism put him in the left-wing faction of the SPA. In May 1911 he joined with like-minded San Francisco socialists William McDevitt, Nathan Greist, and Cloudseley Johns to launch a weekly newspaper called Revolt: The Voice of the Militant Worker. Lewis was one of the paper's editors and a frequent article writer who articulated a revolutionary left viewpoint, which was increasingly in conflict with SPA's direction. Revolt ceased publication in May 1912 due to lack of funds. Lewis sided with Haywood and resigned from SPA as well.

During these years, Lewis was a regular contributor of magazine articles. His work was often printed in Charles H. Kerr's publication, International Socialist Review. From 1913 to 1916, Lewis wrote for New Review magazine and sat on its Advisory Council. He served as editor of Class Struggle magazine (1917–19) when it took a pro-Bolshevik position in the wake of the Russian Revolution.

In 1926, Lewis formed a Northern California affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union. The new affiliate did not last, but Lewis tried again in 1934 and was able to establish it on a permanent basis.

Death Austin Lewis died at his home in Oakland on June 26, 1944. He was 79. He was survived by his wife Ethel C. Lewis, who had been active in the women's suffrage movement, and their four children.

Works Books

Selected articles

Translations Feuerbach: The Roots of the Socialist Philosophy (1903) by Friedrich Engels. . First English translation of Ludwig Feuerbach und der Ausgang der klassischen deutschen Philosophie (Ludwig Feuerbach and the End of Classical German Philosophy). Landmarks of Scientific Socialism (1907) by Friedrich Engels. . First complete English translation of Anti-Duhring. A section of the book, titled Socialism: Utopian and Scientific, had been translated by Edward Aveling in 1892. The High Cost of Living: Changes in Gold-Production and the Rise in Prices (1914) by Karl Kautsky. .