John Maclean (Scottish socialist)

John Maclean
John Maclean in December of 1918 upon his release from prison
Bolshevik consul in Scotland
In office
February 1918 – Unknown
Vice-President (Honorary) of the Third All-Russian Congress of Soviets
In office
23 January 1918 – 31 January 1918
Personal details
Born24 August 1879[1]
Pollokshaws, Scotland
Died30 November 1923 (aged 44)
Pollokshaws, Glasgow, Scotland
Resting placeEastwood New Cemetery
CitizenshipBritish
Political partyScottish Workers Republican Party
Other political
affiliations
Communist Labour Party
Socialist Labour Party
SDF (later BSP)
Co-op movement
SpouseAgnes Maclean
Alma materUniversity of Glasgow
ProfessionSchoolteacher, Politician

John Maclean (24 August 1879 – 30 November 1923) was a Scottish schoolteacher and revolutionary socialist of the Red Clydeside era.[2] He was notable for his outspoken opposition to World War I, which caused his arrest under the Defence of the Realm Act and loss of his teaching post, after which he became a full-time Marxist lecturer and organiser. In April 1918 he was arrested for sedition, and his 75-minute speech from the dock became a celebrated text for Scottish left-wingers. He was sentenced to five years' penal servitude, but was released after the November armistice.

Maclean believed that Scottish workers were especially fitted to lead the revolution, and talked of "Celtic communism", inspired by clan spirit. But his launch of a Scottish Workers Republican Party and a Scottish Communist Party were largely unsuccessful. Although he had been appointed Bolshevik representative in Scotland, he was not in harmony with the Communist Party of Great Britain, even though it had absorbed the British Socialist Party, to which he had belonged. In captivity, Maclean had been on hunger strike, and prolonged force-feeding had permanently affected his health. He collapsed during a speech and died of pneumonia, aged forty-four.

  1. ^ Birth Certificate of John McLean
  2. ^ "Remembering Glasgow's 'forgotten' revolutionary John MacLean". 22 August 2022.