Arthur Desmond
| Arthur Desmond | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Arthur Desmond ca. 1859 Northumberland, England |
| Died | 23 January 1929 Chicago, Illinois |
| Cause of death | Cerebral haemorrhage |
| Resting place | Waldheim Cemetery, Gary, Indiana |
| Nationality | English |
| Other names | Ragnar Redbeard (speculated), Arthur Uing, Richard Thurland, Desmond Dilg |
| Occupation | Author, reporter, journalist, Bookseller |
| Known for | Pseudonymous publications |
| Children | Arthur Desmond, Jr. |
| Parent(s) | Samuel Desmond and Sarah Ewing |
Arthur Desmond (c. 1859 – 26 January 1929), also Arthur Uing, Ragnar Redbeard (speculated), Richard Thurland, Desmond Dilg and Gavin Gowrie, was a British-born politician, proto-fascist, poet and author.
He is believed to be the author of the book Might Is Right, written under the pen name Ragnar Redbeard. Might Is Right is an essay illustrating the author's support of Social Darwinism and their belief that power, strength and superiority is the mark of a moral human being and that inherent human rights are nonexistent.
He is also known for his book Rival Caesars.
As with most aspects of Arthur Desmond's life, there is a snag by starting his biography with his birth statistics. Arthur Desmond spent his adult life concealing his origins as well as his identity, which is understandable when one considers his radical persona, Ragnar Redbeard, and his daring, anti-political and heretical Victorian book, Might Is Right.
This is why George G. Reeve, Desmond's first biographer, could honestly write that "To many another person seeking his acquaintance Desmond held aloof, and to a great extent surrounded himself – 'behind the veil' as it were – by a 'mystery halo' and a sacrosanctness hard to penetrate." Desmond’s second biographer, Darrell W. Conder, concurs and indeed, after presenting the tangle that constitutes Desmond’s life in New Zealand, Australia and America, questions not only Desmond's origins, but his actual birth name. This doubt is based on Desmond's continuous use of pseudonyms and aliases throughout his adult life. George G. Reeve continues "Arthur Desmond, for that was the real name of 'Ragnar Redbeard' was a native of Hawkes [sic] Bay, New Zealand, where he was born about the year 1842 of Irish ancestry." In 1921 The International Communist carried a short article on Desmond in which it was claimed that he was "… a native of Napier, Hawkes [sic] Bay, Maoriland". (The International Communist for Saturday, 17 September 1921, p. 2 article "Redbeard in Sydney" by 'Gullangulong') New Zealand National Dictionary biographer Rachel Barrowman adds: "Arthur Desmond was unknown to the electors of Hawke's Bay when he stood for Parliament in 1884. 'We only know that Mr. Desmond is a cattle-drover, and that he is of Radical tendencies', the editor of the Hawke's Bay Herald wrote. He was said to be 25 years old [placing his birth in 1859], born in New Zealand of Irish descent. He had been in Hawke's Bay since the late 1870s, and had worked as a musterer in south Taranaki. Of his background and personal life nothing more is known." Of the three candidates in the electorate, Desmond came last.
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