Born October 20, 1887
Portland, Oregon
Died October 17, 1920
Moscow, Russia

Journalist and revolutionary political activist

John Reed was an adventurous, revolutionary journalist whose enthusiasm for reporting on world events was matched by his zeal for participating in those events. Reed came of age in New York City’s Greenwich Village in the early twentieth century, then a hotbed of political radicalism. With no shortage of left-leaning (favoring extensive social reform with the goal of creating greater personal freedoms and improved social conditions) publications to write for, Reed was sent to cover worker strikes, the Mexican Revolution (1910–20), and World War I (1914–18). Reed spent the final years of his life supporting the Soviet Revolution and advocating a communist movement in the United States. (Communism is the theory of social organization based on the holding of all property in common.)

Wealthy upbringing and education

John Silas Reed was...