27 Facts About Algernon Lee

Algernon H Lee was an American socialist politician and educator.

Algernon Lee is best remembered as the Director of Education at the Rand School of Social Science for 35 years.

Algernon Lee was born September 15,1873, in Dubuque, Iowa, the son of a millwright and carpenter.

Algernon Lee was educated in public schools in Fishkill, New York, and Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Algernon Lee attended the University of Minnesota from 1892 through 1897.

Algernon Lee became the Minnesota State Secretary of the Socialist Labor Party in 1898 and he edited a socialist newspaper in Minneapolis called The Tocsin.

Algernon Lee was not long in that role as he chose to leave the party during the bitter party split of 1899, joining the so-called Springfield faction of the Social Democratic Party of America.

Algernon Lee moved to New York City in 1899 to work as a paid editor of The Worker, continuing in that position with its successor, The New York Call, established in 1908.

Algernon Lee was a founding member of the Socialist Party of America, established in the summer of 1901 when the two organizations calling themselves the "Social Democratic Party" joined forces at a Unity Convention held in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Algernon Lee left The Call in 1909 to join the staff of the Rand School of Social Science, an educational institute closely linked to the SPA, as its Educational Director.

Algernon Lee remained in this position for the rest of his life.

Algernon Lee was a frequent delegate to socialist gatherings, both national and international.

Algernon Lee was a delegate of the SPA to the 1922 Frankfurt Congress of the Labour and Socialist International.

Algernon Lee was a frequent candidate for political office on the ticket of the Socialist Party.

Algernon Lee was elected a member of the New York City Board of Aldermen in 1917, serving one term from 1918 to 1919.

Algernon Lee was narrowly defeated for re-election in 1919, but after a two-year recount process it was discovered he and one other Socialist, Edward F Cassidy, had actually won.

In 1916, Algernon Lee was the Socialist candidate for Governor of New York.

Algernon Lee was twice a Socialist candidate for Congress: in the 14th District in 1920, and in 1926 in the 13th District.

Algernon Lee was three times the Socialist Party's nominee for the New York State Senate, running in 1928 and 1930 in the 14th District, and in 1932 in the 17th District.

Algernon Lee was a delegate to New York convention to ratify the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution, which ended Prohibition, in 1933.

Algernon Lee was a member of the "Provisional Executive Committee" of the Committee for the Preservation of the Socialist Party in 1934.

Algernon Lee left the Socialist Party with his "Old Guard" comrades to help form the Social Democratic Federation in 1936.

Algernon Lee remained affiliated with the SDF for the rest of his life and participated in the activities of the Liberal Party of New York.

From 1939 through 1948, Algernon Lee wrote and delivered a weekly radio broadcast on national and international affairs for the SDF's radio station, WEVD.

In contrast to his anti-militarist position towards World War I, Algernon Lee was an active supporter of American entry into World War II and served on his local draft board.

Algernon Lee died on January 5,1954, in Amityville, New York, on Long Island.

Algernon Lee was 80 years old at the time of his death.