Charles Lindley

Charles Lindley

Charles Lindley (1865–1957), born Carl Gustaf Lindgren, was a Swedish socialist and trade union activist.

For many years in his youth, Lindley was a merchant seaman working on English seagoing vessels, and he became very active in the British workers' movement. It was from his British comrades that he received his English-sounding nickname "Charles" (or "Charlie"), which he kept upon his return to Sweden.

Lindley founded the Swedish Transport Workers' Union in 1897 and co-founded the International Transport Workers' Federation.

In 1900, Lindley married the Swedish feminist Elin Jonsson, who was a close friend of the Bolshevik Alexandra Kollontay.

In 1933, Lindley was elected as President of the International Transport Workers' Federation, and served in that position until 1946.^[1]

Today, there is a small statue of Charles Lindley in Gothenburg.

References

1. ↑ "General Secretaries and Presidents of the ITF 1896-2010", International Transport Workers' Federation