Ruth First (1925-1982) was a South African socialist, anti-apartheid activist, and scholar. She fled South Africa in 1963 after serving 117 days in solitary confinement in South African jails. She worked from exile in England until 1977 when she returned to hands-on political work in Mozambique. On August 17, 1982, she was killed by a parcel bomb in Maputo, Mozambique.

Ruth First was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1925, the daughter of socialist immigrants Tilly and Julius First. Educated in Johannesburg, she completed a bachelor's degree in sociology at the University of the Witwatersrand in 1946. Her years as a university student were filled with political exploration and set her commitment to pursue the struggle for social justice for all South Africans. First was instrumental in the foundation of the non-racial Federation of Progressive Students and joined the South African Communist Party--the principal party open to whites forging inter-racial political activity.

Upon graduation First...