Becky Edelsohn

June 6, 1914, in Tarrytown, New York
Edelsohn being taken from jail, 1914

Rebecca Edelsohn, in contemporary sources often given as Becky Edelson, (1892–1973) was a Latvian American anarchist and hunger striker who was jailed in 1914 for disorderly conduct during an Industrial Workers of the World speech.[1][2] According to The New York Times, she was the first woman to attempt a hunger strike in the United States.[3]

  1. ^ "Fast Hasn't Hurt Becky Edelson Yet". The New York Times. July 23, 1914. Retrieved 2011-03-18. Becky Edelson, in the fifty-second hour of her hunger strike, underwent a slight change of disposition yesterday afternoon. Her rebellious mood softened. She greeted kindly Dr. Anna Hubert, whom she treated with scorn on her arrival on Blackwell's Island from the Tombs on Monday morning, and when Dr. Hubert renewed her proposal that Miss Edelson should submit to a physical examination, the hungry and thirsty prisoner submitted willingly.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Tarrytown was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "An I.W.W. Heroine, Although She Ate: Becky Edelson Is Freed from Jail and Has a Great Reception" (PDF). The New York Times. April 28, 1914. Retrieved 2011-03-18. Becky Edelson, the first woman to attempt a hunger strike in this country, was freed yesterday afternoon from the Queens County Jail in Long Island City, and last night was proclaimed the chief heroine of the I.W.W. and anarchistic agitators at a reception given in her honor at the offices of Mother Earth, an anarchistic publication controlled by Emma Goldman.