Henry Brailsford English left-wing journalist Date of Birth: 25.12.1873 Country: Great Britain

1. Early Life and Education
2. War Reporting and Foreign Correspondence
3. Involvement with the Russian Revolution
4. Support for Russian Revolutionaries
5. Political Career
6. Later Life and Work

Early Life and Education

Henry Noel Brailsford was born into the family of Methodist preacher Edward John Brailsford in 1873. In 1894, he graduated from the University of Glasgow with degrees in philosophy, Latin, and Greek.

War Reporting and Foreign Correspondence

During the First Greco-Turkish War in 1897, Brailsford traveled to Greece as an observer. He subsequently worked as a correspondent for the Manchester Guardian in Crete during the Greco-Turkish conflict there. In 1899, he moved to London, where he worked for The Morning Leader, The Echo, The Tribune, and The Daily News.

Involvement with the Russian Revolution

Brailsford was a member of the British Society of Friends of Russian Freedom and actively supported Russian revolutionaries and socialists. He maintained connections with prominent figures such as Peter Kropotkin, Felix Volkhovsky, Theodore Rothstein, and Ivan Maisky. He also published articles in the society's journal, "Free Russia."

Support for Russian Revolutionaries

In October 1904, Brailsford obtained British passports for several Socialist Revolutionary terrorists, including Boris Savinkov and Maximilian Schweitzer. Schweitzer was killed in an explosion while preparing bombs in St. Petersburg, leading to an investigation and a fine of £100 against Brailsford for obtaining a passport under false pretenses. In 1907, he helped secure £1,700 for the Bolsheviks' Fifth Congress in London.

Political Career

In 1907, Brailsford joined the Independent Labour Party. He ran for Parliament in 1918 but was unsuccessful. He visited the Soviet Union in 1920 and 1926 and wrote two pro-Soviet books. From 1922 to 1926, he edited the party newspaper, The New Leader.

Later Life and Work

During World War II, Brailsford worked for the BBC and advocated for American intervention on behalf of Britain. He retired from journalism in 1946 and dedicated himself to studying the Levellers, a radical political movement of the 17th century. However, his book on the Levellers remained unfinished. He passed away in 1958.