Gus Hall

Gus Hall
Hall in 1976
General Secretary of the National Committee of the Communist Party USA
In office
December 14, 1959 – May 2000
Vice PresidentJarvis Tyner
Angela Davis
Preceded byEugene Dennis
Succeeded bySam Webb
Personal details
Born
Arvo Kustaa Halberg

(1910-10-08)October 8, 1910
Cherry Township, Minnesota, U.S.
DiedOctober 13, 2000(2000-10-13) (aged 90)
New York City, U.S.
Political partyCommunist Party USA
Spouse
Elizabeth Mary Turner
(m. 1935)
Children2
EducationInternational Lenin School
OccupationLumberjack, miner, steel worker, trade unionist, political writer
Signature
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Navy
Years of service1942–1946
RankMachinist's mate[1]
Battles/warsWorld War II

Gus Hall (born Arvo Kustaa Halberg; October 8, 1910 – October 13, 2000) was an American activist who served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) from 1959 to 2000. As a labor leader, Hall was closely associated with the so-called "Little Steel" Strike of 1937, an effort to unionize the nation's smaller, regional steel manufacturers. During the Second Red Scare, he was indicted under the Smith Act and was sentenced to eight years in prison. After his release, Hall led the CPUSA for over 40 years, generally taking an orthodox Marxist–Leninist stance and becoming a perennial candidate for president of the United States.

  1. ^ McHugh, Roy (May 5, 1978). "Marxist Gus Hall Recalls His Red Letter Days". The Pittsburgh Press.