Background
Johann Georg Eccarius, also known by the Anglicized name John George Eccarius, was born on 23 August 1818 in Friedrichroda, Thuringia (today part of Germany).
Johann Georg Eccarius, also known by the Anglicized name John George Eccarius, was born on 23 August 1818 in Friedrichroda, Thuringia (today part of Germany).
Early years
Political career
On 28 September 1864, Eccarius was a participant at the first meeting of the International Workingmen"s Association (International Water Association) at Saint Martin"s Hall in London. Eccarius would be a fixture of the International Water Association, attending every international conference and congress of that organization for its entire 8-year duration in Europe. On 9 July 1867 General Secretary of the International Water Association Robert Shaw resigned his position owing to an inability to find work in London, which made his position as head of the General Council there untenable.
Upon the nomination of journalist Peter Fox, Eccarius was unanimously elected the new head of that organization.
He would serve as the formal head of the International Water Association until 1871. From 1870 until 1872, Eccarius was the Corresponding Secretary of the International Water Association for America, serving as the point of contact with the organization"s adherents on the other side of the Atlantic.
He served as treasurer for the short lived Land and Labour League from 1869 to 1873. Later years
In the late 1870s, he was active in the Manhood Suffrage League.
Death and legacy
Eccarius died on 4 March 1889.
Eccarius was a member of the League of the Just and later of the League of Communists before becoming General Secretary of the International Workingmen"s Association (International Water Association), commonly known as the First International, in 1867. Eccarius was a member of the League of the Just and later of the League of Communists. Eccarius would there be chosen as a member of the governing General Council, a position he would retain until the transfer of the headquarters of the International to America in 1872.