Simon Wing in his later years.

Simon Wing (August 29, 1826 – December 17, 1910) was a daguerreotypist, camera inventor and socialist politician. He is best remembered as the first candidate of the Socialist Labor Party of America for President of the United States, running for that office in 1892.

Photographer with a Simon Wing camera, c1860

Biography

Simon Wing was born in Saint Albans, Maine on August 29, 1826. As a photographer and ferrotypist, he kept a studio on Washington Street in Boston.[1] Wing spent most of his life living in the town of Watertown, Massachusetts.

Political career

Wing was an active member of the Socialist Labor Party of America (SLP) and stood as its first nominee for President of the United States in 1892, heading a ticket with Brooklyn, New York electrician Charles H. Matchett. The SLP ran tickets in six states in that year, garnering a total vote of 21,512.[2]

Death

Simon Wing died December 17, 1910 at his home in Charlestown, Massachusetts. He was 84 years old at the time of his death.[3]

Footnotes

  1. ^ Boston Directory, 1868.
  2. ^ Morris Hillquit, History of Socialism in the United States. New York: Funk and Wagnalls Co., 1903; pg. 283.
  3. ^ "Simon Wing is Dead". The Times Dispatch. 2 February 1911. p. 3. Retrieved 8 January 2017 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
Washington Street in Boston, with "S. Wing's Ferrotype" sign, circa 1871.
Photo of Watertown, Massachusetts by Simon Wing

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Simon Wing.


Socialist Labor Party of America
(← 1888) 1892 United States presidential election (1896 →)
Authority control databases: Artists
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