Francesc Ferrer i Guàrdia

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Francesc Ferrer i Guàrdia

Born	January 10, 1859 Alella, Spain
Died	October 12, 1909 Barcelona, Spain
Nationality	Spanish

Francesc Ferrer i Guàrdia (January 10, 1859 - October 12, 1909), (known as Francisco Ferrer y Guardia in Spanish and often simply as Francisco Ferrer), was a Spanish Catalan free-thinker and anarchist.

He was born in Alella (a small town near Barcelona) to Catholic parents. A follower of Spanish republican leader Ruiz Zorilla, Ferrer was exiled to Paris with his wife and children in 1885. Divorcing in 1899, he remarried a wealthy Parisian teacher shortly thereafter.

In 1901 he returned to Spain and opened la Escuela Moderna (The Modern School) to teach middle-class children (then) radical social values. In 1906 he was arrested on suspicion of involvement with Mateu Morral's attack on King Alphonso XIII and released uncharged over a year later. His school failed and closed while he was incarcerated.

A depiction of Ferrer's death

Early in the summer of 1908, after his release from jail, he wrote the story of the Modern School. The work was entitled The Origins and Ideals of the Modern School and was translated into English by Joseph McCabe and published by the Knickerbocker Press in 1913.

Following the declaration of martial law in 1909 during the Tragic Week, he was arrested and executed without any proof by firing squad at Montjuich Fortress in Barcelona on October 13.

Shortly after his execution, numerous supporters of Ferrer's ideas in the United States formed what were called Modern Schools, or Ferrer Schools, modeled after la Escuela Moderna. The first and most notable Modern School was formed in New York City in 1911, and then later a community was founded around a school, known as Ferrer Colony and Modern School.

[edit] "Anarchism and Other Essays"

In Anarchism and Other Essays, Emma Goldman called Francesc Ferrer a "rebel" and said that "his spirit would rise in just indignation against the iron régime of his country..." She also made note of his joining of various liberal movements, mentioning that this is caused by him being "famished."