American revolutionary, socialist and journalist. Reed was born in Portland, Oregon, to a wealthy family and educated at Harvard University. He settled in New York City in 1910 and began writing for a socialist journal, The Masses. In New York, Reed gained a reputation as one of the new and bright intellectuals of the Greenwich Village portion of New York.

After going to New Jersey to witness a silk-workers' strike organized by Bill Haywood in 1913, he also became a supporter of the Industrial Workers of the World and their idea of "One Big Union." Subsequently, he organized an IWW march in New York. Officially becoming a journalist, Reed gained national attention for his reporting of the revolt led by Pancho Villa of Mexico in 1914.

When World War I broke out, Reed denounced it as a "Traders' War." He was sent to Europe in 1914 and 1915 for The Metropolitan. After returning from Europe, he with numerous leftists such as Emma Goldman and Max Eastman to fight against the war. He initially supported President Woodrow Wilson because he pledged to keep the US from fighting.

When Wilson broke his promise and sent troops to Europe, Reed joined the Socialist Party and became a leader of its left wing. In 1917, Reed and his wife, the artist/journalist Louise Bryant, went to Russia. Reed became a supporter of Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky, leaders of the Bolsheviks. Reed observed the Bolsheviks' victory in the Russian Revolution, pointing it out as a victory for the people of Russia.

After returning to the United States, Reed wrote a book about the events he saw, Ten Days That Shook the World. Reed attempted to gain support for Lenin via the Socialist Party of America. When he failed and was imprisoned for creating a disturbance, he helped organize a pro-Lenin faction of the SPA into the Communist Labor Party, the party which would later become the Communist Party USA. In 1919, he went to Russia on business for the party. While trying to return to the United States, Reed was arrested in Finland and imprisoned for 13 weeks. Then he returned to Russia. Reed died of typhus there about a month after being reunited with his wife. He was buried in front of the Kremlin of Moscow, making him the only American ever to receive this honor.

Reed's fascinating life story was retold in the Warren Beatty film Reds (1981, Paramount Pictures). Visit the John Reed Internet Archive.