Edward Aveling (1851–1898)

An activist, publicist and writer of the British workers’ movement; social democrat.

Aveling was born in November 1851, in Stoke Newington, England. In 1876, he received a Doctor of Science degree in 1876 from the London University. A radical liberal in his early years, he became a Marxist under the influence of scientific socialism and joined the agitation and propaganda work of the British workers’ movement together with Marx’s third daughter, Eleanor Marx. In 1884, he joined the British Social Democratic Federation (SDF) and was elected a member of the Executive Committee of the Federation and married Eleanor Marx. In December 1884, dissatisfied with the dictatorial style and opportunistic policies of Henry Mayers Hyndman, the leader of the Federation, he and Eleanor withdrew from the Federation, organized the British Socialist League and served as a member of the Executive Committee of the League. In 1886, together with Samuel Moore, he translated Capital, Vol.1 into English, which was then revised and published by Engels. In 1886, at the invitation of the Labor Party of North America, he visited the United States with Eleanor, and in 1888, he accompanied Engels on his visit to the United States. In 1889, 1891 and 1893, Aveling was a delegate to the International Socialist Workers’ Congress. Aveling was one of the translators of Marx’s Capital, Vol. 1, and Engels’ Socialism: Utopian and Scientific into English, and made some contributions to the spread of Marxism in Britain and the development of the British workers’ movement. However, in his later years, his character was bad, his will was weak, his faith was wavering, and he turned into a self-serving and scheming person. Aveling died in London on August 2, 1898.