A dynamitard was a person who used explosives for violence against the state, and is a niche metaphor for a revolutionary in politics, culture or social affairs.
A dynamitard was a person who used explosives for violence against the state, and is a niche metaphor for a revolutionary in politics, culture or social affairs.
First appearing in English language newspapers in 1882, [1] [2] [3] the word was understood to be a French expression applied to political terrorists in France. [4] In reality, dynamitard is not a formal French word; French newspapers had conjured it up as a disdainful variant of dynamiteur. [5] It was soon applied to Burton and Cunningham, [6] Irish-Americans who had planted explosives in London. [4] [7] "A term of opprobrium for some and endearment for others, the dynamitard was technically a political dynamiter, of the kind that bombed railway carriages and exploded devices in the House of Commons in the name of Irish freedom, chiefly in the early 1880s." [8]
In nineteenth century politics the term came to be used, particularly by George Bernard Shaw, as metonymy for those who chose violent struggle — as opposed to gradual means — for achieving social revolution: a dynamitard was contrasted with a Fabian. [9] [10] Shaw himself, though a Fabian in politics, was described metaphorically as "a dynamitard among music and drama critics". [11]
Between 1889 [12] and 1903 [13] Stevenston Thistle, who played in the Ayrshire Football League and elsewhere, [14] were known as The Dynamitards. [15] They did not live up to their name, however, losing 7-2 to Clyde F.C. in the first round of the 1894–95 Scottish Cup.
Mocked as a neologism by Robert Louis and Fanny van de Grift Stevenson ("Any writard who writes dynamitard shall find in me a never-resting fightard"), [16] its presence in dictionaries regretted by purists, [17] there it has remained.
George Bernard Shaw, known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 1880s to his death and beyond. He wrote more than sixty plays, including major works such as Man and Superman (1902), Pygmalion (1913) and Saint Joan (1923). With a range incorporating both contemporary satire and historical allegory, Shaw became the leading dramatist of his generation, and in 1925 was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Robert Louis Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as Treasure Island, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Kidnapped and A Child's Garden of Verses.
Richard Marsden Pankhurst was an English barrister and socialist who was a strong supporter of women's rights. He was married to suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst.
Cunninghame is a former comital district of Scotland and also a district of the Strathclyde Region from 1975 to 1996.
Pall Mall is a street in the St James's area of the City of Westminster, Central London. It connects St James's Street to Trafalgar Square and is a section of the regional A4 road. The street's name is derived from pall-mall, a ball game played there during the 17th century, which in turn is derived from the Italian pallamaglio, literally "ball-mallet".
The Pall Mall Gazette was an evening newspaper founded in London on 7 February 1865 by George Murray Smith; its first editor was Frederick Greenwood. In 1921, The Globe merged into The Pall Mall Gazette, which itself was absorbed into The Evening Standard in 1923.
Ernest William Radford (1857–1919) was an English poet, critic and socialist. He was a follower of William Morris, and one of the organisers in the Arts and Crafts Movement; he acted as secretary to the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society.
Frances Matilda Van de Grift Osbourne Stevenson was an American magazine writer. She became a supporter and later the wife of Robert Louis Stevenson, and the mother of Isobel Osbourne, Samuel Lloyd Osbourne, and Hervey Stewart Osbourne.
Walter Alfred Slaughter was an English conductor and composer of musical comedy, comic opera and children's shows. He was engaged in the West End as a composer and musical director from 1883 to 1904.
Renton Football Club was a football club based in Renton, West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Formed in 1872, it was a prominent team in the early history of Scottish football, and was one of the teams that featured in the first ever Scottish Cup fixture. It won the competition twice, in 1885 and 1888, and was also runners-up three times. Its 6–1 win against Cambuslang in 1888 is the joint record win in a Scottish Cup final.
Oldham was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Oldham, England. It returned two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The constituency was created by the Great Reform Act of 1832 and was abolished for the 1950 general election when it was split into the Oldham East and Oldham West constituencies.
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Walter Montgomerie Neilson was a Scottish locomotive and marine engineer and manufacturer. He was born in Glasgow, the son of James Beaumont Neilson, inventor of the hot blast furnace. Walter was trained as an engineer in the Oakbank Foundry run by his uncle John Neilson. He also worked in the St Rollox Engine Works in Glasgow. He was a President of the Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland and a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers. Outside his professional career, he was involved in local politics, the military, and Freemasonry.
The Fenian dynamite campaign was a campaign of political violence orchestrated by Irish republican paramilitary groups in Great Britain from 1881 to 1885. It involved attacks using explosives such as dynamite on British government and civilian targets and was carried out by the Irish Republican Brotherhood, United Irishmen of America and Clan na Gael with the ultimate aim of ending British rule in Ireland. Infrastructure was attacked along with government targets as part of the campaign, which killed 4 people, including a young boy, and wounded 86. The campaign met with widespread backlash in Britain and a mixed response in Ireland, and led to the establishment of the Special Irish Branch by the Metropolitan Police to counter the campaign. By 1885, the campaign petered out, though Irish republicans would continue to carry out attacks in Great Britain well into the 20th century.
The St James's Gazette was a London evening newspaper published from 1880 to 1905. It was founded by the Conservative Henry Hucks Gibbs, later Baron Aldenham, a director of the Bank of England 1853–1901 and its governor 1875–1877; the paper's first editor was Frederick Greenwood, previously the editor of the Conservative-leaning Pall Mall Gazette.
Milton Bridge is a village in Midlothian, Scotland. It is located two miles north of Penicuik on the Glencorse Burn and gets its name from the bridge crossing.
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Addiewell Football Club was a Scottish senior football club from the village of Addiewell, Midlothian.
Marchtown Football Club was an association football club from Glasgow, notable for being the first "junior" competition winners in 1878.