John Henry Mackay

John Henry Mackay (Greenock, Scotland, 1864 - Stahnsdorf 1933). He was raised in Germany.

He was an individualist anarchist thinker and writer, friend of Benjamin Tucker and author of Die Anarchisten (The Anarchists) (1891) and Der Freiheitsucher (The Searcher for Freedom) (1921). He also wrote using fictional forms, using the pseudonym 'Sagitta' such as the novel of the Berlin boy-bars, Der Puppenjunge (1926).

The writings & theories of Mackay had a significant influence on Adolf Brand's organisation Gemeinschaft der Eigenen from 1906. Mackay had then lived in Berlin for a decade, and had become a friend of scientist and Gemeinschaft der Eigenen co-founder Benedict Friedlander .

Mackay was a key populariser of the work of Max Stirner (1806-1856) outside Germany, writing a biography of the philosopher. Mackay this added greatly to the understanding of the work of Nietzche.

Richard Strauss set one of his poems to music, in the well-known song "Morgen".

Mackay committed suicide ten days after the Nazi book burnings at the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft.

Further reading

• Kennedy, Hubert. Anarchist of Love: The Secret Life of John Henry Mackay (2nd Edition, 2002) (full-text PDF link)

• Complete works of John Henry Mackay: free e-books