Most, Johann Joseph

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Johann Joseph Most (mōst), 1846–1906, German anarchist. A bookbinder by trade, he served as editor of socialist papers in Germany and Austria. His publications were suppressed, and he was frequently imprisoned for his public denunciation of religion, patriotism, and accepted moral standards. After sitting (1874–78) in the German Reichstag, he moved to France and then to England, where he served a 16-month prison term for glorifying the assassination of Russia's Alexander II. He emigrated (1882) to the United States and became a leader in the American anarchist movement. He was imprisoned a number of times for his activities, until he drifted away from anarchist politics.