Boris Reinstein

Born in 1866 and later active in both the United States and Soviet Russia, Boris Reinstein was a political writer closely connected with socialist and communist movements. Records from Wikidata identify him as a politician who belonged to the Socialist Labor Party of America, and Library of Congress materials show that he was important enough to leave behind a named collection of photographs and related historical material.

Reinstein is remembered in this library as the author of International May Day and American Labor Day, a work that contrasts the meanings of the two holidays and argues from a working-class point of view. That title fits the larger pattern of his career: writing that was strongly tied to labor politics, internationalism, and the ideals of social change.

He died in 1947. While not a widely read literary figure today, his writings offer a direct window into the language, causes, and convictions of early twentieth-century radical politics.