Edgard Leuenroth

Edgard Leuenroth (October 31, 1881, Mogi Mirim – September 28, 1968, São Paulo) was a Brazilian journalist, publisher and writer, who became famous for his documentation of the country's earliest social movements, particularly the communist, socialist and anarchist worker's and intellectual's activities and movements.

Leuenroth was born in the city of Mogi Mirim, in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, to immigrants from Germany. He moved with his then widowed mother to the city of São Paulo while still a child of five years of age.

As he entered the professional world, Edgard Leuenroth got interested in socialism and in the claims of the common worker, attending the meetings of the Circuito Socialista from around 1900. Once introduced to the anarchist movement, he remained a loyal member until his death.

He was one of the organizers of the General Strike of 1917, the culmination of a series of partial strikes, lockouts and labour conflicts in the city of São Paulo that then spread to other major cities such as Rio de Janeiro. He was arrested shortly afterwards, under the accusation of having led a raid on a grain mill.

Edgard Leuenroth published many newspapers, such as O Boi ("The Ox"), O Trabalhador Gráfico ("The Graphical Worker"), A Lucta Proletária ("The Proletarian Fight"), Ação Direta ("Direct Action"), Spartacus, A Plebe ("The Mob"), O Combate ("The Combat"), A Voz do Povo (The People's Voice"). A Plebe had a very strong impact on the working class of the states of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

After his death, Leuenroth's family donated his extensive collections of media (newspaper scraps, articles, photographs, etc.) to the State University of Campinas, which organized the Arquivo Edgard Leuenroth, one of the most important historical sources of the 20th century social movements in Brazil.