De Leon, Daniel (1852-1914)

West Indian-born US socialist advocate. A Lawyer, he was named the Socialist Labor Party's national lecturer. His disaffection with the party and with the Socialist Party of America led to him forming his own Workers' International Industrial Union.

He was born on the island of Cuŗcao and, after studying in Europe, he emigrated to New York City, where he was a lecturer on Latin-American diplomacy at Columbia University. He became editor of the Socialist Labor Party organ, The People, and was an unsuccessful candidate for governor and Congress. His antagonism to existing trade unions eventually led to the formation of a splinter group, the Socialist Party of America. In 1905, he also assisted in the formation of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), which soon splintered. It was when he was ousted from the IWW that he formed the Workers' International Industrial Union. Lenin praised his writings as incorporating the germ of the Soviet system.