Lexington Avenue bombing

The Lexington Avenue bombing was the July 4 1914 explosion of a bomb in an apartment at 1626 Lexington Avenue New York City, killing four people and injuring dozens. cite news
url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9802E5DA153FE233A25756C0A9619C946596D6CF
title=Exploded in Apartment Occupied by Tarrytown Disturbers.; ONLY ONE ESCAPED ALIVE
date=1914-07-05
work=The New York Times
quote=A large quantity of dynamite, which the police and certain friends of the leaders of the I. W. W. believe was being made into a bomb to be used in blowing up John D. Rockefeller's Tarrytown home, exploded prematurely at 9:16 o'clock in the upper story or on the roof of the new seven-story model tenement house at 1,626 Lexington Avenue
accessdate=2007-12-30 ]

In July 1914, two members of the Lettish section of the Anarchist Red Crossndash Charles Berg and Carl Hansonndash along with Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) member Arthur Caronndash began collecting dynamite they had obtained from Russia, storing it at the apartment of another Anarchist Red Cross member, Louise Berger, an editor of Emma Goldman's "Mother Earth News". Several meetings were held at the Ferrer Center, where they devised a plan in which Caron, Berg, and Hanson were to plant a bomb at John D. Rockefeller's home in Tarrytown, New York.Avrich Paul, "The Anarchist Background", Princeton: Princeton University Press (1991)] Avrich, Paul, "Anarchist Voices: An Oral History of Anarchism in America", Princeton: Princeton University Press (1996)]

According to later accounts, the three men, along with Alexander Berkman and Charles Plunkett, met at the Ferrer Center at least twice to discuss the plot. Charles Plunkett, a party to the conspiracy, later stated that Berkman chose to remain behind the scenes rather than take an active role in the bombing due to his being on probation for the attempted assassination of Henry Clay Frick. Berkman later denied any involvement or knowledge of the plan, a denial supported by some who knew him, and rejected by others. [Avrich Paul, "The Anarchist Background", Princeton: Princeton University Press (1991)] Avrich, Paul, "Anarchist Voices: An Oral History of Anarchism in America", Princeton: Princeton University Press (1996)]

At 9 a.m. on July 4th, Louise Berger left her apartment and headed over to the "Mother Earth" offices on 119th Street. Fifteen minutes later, the deadly explosion that would later become known as the Lexington Avenue bombing took place. A large explosive blast shook the sixth story of Berger's tenement building at 1626 Lexington Avenue, between 103rd Street and 104th Street in the thickly populated area of Harlem, only a few blocks away from the Ferrer Center. Passers-by witnessed a shower of debris and rubble fall into the street. The three upper floors of the tenement building were wrecked from the explosion, while debris showered rooftops and the streets below. Large pieces of furniture were thrown hundreds of feet through the air due to the power of the blast. The bomb intended for Rockefeller had exploded prematurely at Berger's apartment, killing Carl Hanson, Charles Berg, Arthur Caron, and Marie Chavez, who had apparently not been involved in the conspiracy but had merely rented a room in the apartment. The blast threw Caron's body onto the mangled and twisted fire escape. The mutilated bodies of Marie Chavez and Hanson were found inside of the apartment. The blast had torn the body of Charles Berg into pieces, which were seen by spectators being thrown through the air onto the streets. In total, twenty other people were injured, seven of them severely enough to be hospitalized. Berkman attended the men's funerals. Louise Berger later denied any involvement, and police were unable to implicate her in the conspiracy.

Another IWW member named "Mike" Murphy was spending the night in the same apartment when the explosion occurred. The blast destroyed the floor underneath him, causing his bed to fall into the apartment below. Slightly dazed and confused, Murphy was able to walk away from the incident with only the loss of some clothes and a few minor bruises. He was immediately sought for questioning by the police, but was able to slip away to "Mother Earth" headquarters, where it is believed that Berkman sent him into hiding, accompanied by Charles Plunkett, another co-conspirator of the bombing. Murphy was first taken to New Jersey and then to Philadelphia by members of the Radical Library and finally on to Canada.

Aftermath

The deaths of the bombmakers did not end the attacks against Rockefeller and Standard Oil. On November 19, 1915, another bomb plot was discovered, this time against John D. Archbold, President of the Standard Oil Company, at his home in Tarrytown. Police theorized the bomb was planted by anarchists and I.W.W. radicals as a protest against the execution of I.W.W. member Joseph Hillstrom in Salt Lake City, Utah. The bomb was discovered by a gardener, who found four sticks of dynamite, weighing a pound each, half hidden in a rut in a driveway fifty feet from the front entrance of the residence. The dynamite sticks were bound together by a length of wire, fitted with percussion caps, and wrapped with a piece of paper matching the color of the driveway, a path used by Archbold in going to or from his home by automobile. The bomb was later defused by police. [New York Times, "Dynamite Bomb For J.D. Archbold," 22 November 1915]

In Literature

Philosopher Will Durant later created a fictionalized version of this bombing and placed himself in the story as the innocent fourth roommate. This version appeared in Durant's 1927 autobiography, "Transitions". In Durant's version, the innocent roommate survived. The parallels between the true story and Durant's version are unmistakable, as Durant claims to have associated with anarchists loosely affiliated with the Ferrer Center at which Durant taught. Durant further describes the bombing as intended retaliation against a wealthy industrialist whose company had caused a massacre of employees in Colorado. Durant never acknowledged that the account (including his own participation) was fictionalized. The account of this bombing was included with many true stories from Durant's life.

ee also

* Greenwich Village townhouse explosion

References

* Margaret Marsh. "Anarchist Women 1870-1920". Temple University Press; ISBN 0-87722-202-9
* Avrich Paul, "The Anarchist Background", Princeton: Princeton University Press (1991)
* Avrich, Paul, "Anarchist Voices: An Oral History of Anarchism in America", Princeton: Princeton University Press (1996)]

External links

Archived print media
*cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |author= |coauthors= |title=Exploded in Apartment Occupied by Tarrytown Disturbers.; ONLY ONE ESCAPED ALIVE |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9802E5DA153FE233A25756C0A9619C946596D6CF |format=pdf |work=The New York Times |publisher=Adolph Ochs |location=New York City, New York, United States |id= |pages=1 |date=1914-07-05 |accessdate=2008-07-13 |quote=
*cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |author= |coauthors= |title=PLAN BIG MEETING FOR DEAD BOMB MEN; Demonstration in Union Square by Anti-Militarist League Announced for Tomorrow. |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9802E5DA153FE233A25756C0A9619C946596D6CF |format=pdf |work=The New York Times |publisher=Adolph Ochs |location=New York City, New York, United States |id= |pages=1 |date=1914-07-10 |accessdate=2008-07-13 |quote=
*cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |author= |coauthors= |title=BERKMAN REVEALS ANARCHISTS' PLOT; Says Bomb Which Killed Makers Last July Was Meant for Rockefellers. DENIES HE KNOWS SCHMIDT But W. J. Burns, Who Caught Alleged Dynamiter, Thinks the Two Men Are Acquainted. |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9A02E2D61538E633A25755C1A9649C946496D6CF |format=pdf |work=The New York Times |publisher=Adolph Ochs |location=New York City, New York, United States |id= |pages=1 |date=1915-02-16 |accessdate=2008-07-13 |quote=