- Bellamy, Edward
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born March 26, 1850, Chicopee Falls, Mass., U.S.died May 22, 1898, Chicopee FallsU.S. writer.Bellamy first became aware of the plight of the urban poor at age 18 while studying in Germany. He engaged throughout his life in progressive causes and wrote several books reflecting his concerns, but he is known chiefly for his utopian novel Looking Backward (1888), which describes the U.S. in the year 2000 as an ideal socialist state featuring cooperation, brotherhood, and industry geared to human need. It sold more than a million copies; a sequel, Equality (1897), was less successful.
BellamyBy courtesy of the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.* * *
▪ American writerborn March 26, 1850, Chicopee Falls, Mass., U.S.died May 22, 1898, Chicopee FallsAmerican writer known chiefly for his utopian novel Looking Backward, 2000–1887.The son of a Baptist minister, Bellamy first realized the plight of the urban poor at 18 while studying for a year in Germany. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1871, but soon turned to journalism, first as an associate editor for the Springfield (Massachusetts) Union and then as an editorial writer for the New York Evening Post. Bellamy's early essays and stories sometimes indirectly criticized conventional American attitudes.In Looking Backward (1888), set in Boston in the year 2000, he described the United States under an ideal socialist system that featured cooperation, brotherhood, and an industry geared to human need. The novel, which sold more than 1,000,000 copies, appealed to a public still suffering the effects of the depression of 1883 and disturbed by such industrial clashes as the Haymarket Riot in Chicago (1886). Bellamy became an active propagandist for the nationalization of public services, and his ideas encouraged the foundation of Nationalist clubs. Political groups inspired by Bellamy's works also appeared in Europe, especially in The Netherlands. He influenced the Populist Party platform of 1892 through his magazine The Nationalist (1889–91), but its successor, the New Nation (1891–94), saw the movement in decline. Bellamy's Equality (1897), a sequel to Looking Backward, was less successful. Additional writings were published in Edward Bellamy Speaks Again! (1937) and as Talks on Nationalism (1938).Additional ReadingCritical biographies include Arthur E. Morgan, Edward Bellamy (1944, reprinted 1974); and Sylvia E. Bowman, The Year 2000 (1958, reprinted 1979). More recent studies are Bowman's Edward Bellamy (1986), a brief survey; and Daphne Patai (ed.), Looking Backward, 1988–1888 (1988), centenary essays.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
