Allan L. Benson

Allan Louis Benson (November 6, 1871 – August 19, 1940) was an American newspaper editor and author who was the Socialist Party of America nominee for President of the United States in 1916. Known for his outspoken anti-war views, Benson and his running mate George Ross Kirkpatrick received 590,524 votes, 3.2% of the total vote in the election.

Early life and education

Benson was born in Plainwell, Michigan, on November 6, 1871. His father, Adelbert L. Benson, was a factory worker during Allan's boyhood, later becoming a miller, while his mother, Rose Morris Benson, died when Allan was an infant. Allan lived with his grandfather until the age of 12. His grandfather was a farmer in Silver Creek, Michigan.

At the age of 15, Benson's father's mill burned and he was forced to give up his aspiration of attending college and becoming a lawyer. Benson left home and took a job in a chair factory, later working in a paper mill.

Benson only attended one year of high school, but he nevertheless took the state examination to become a school teacher and passed, earning a certificate to teach in a district school. He became involved in a physical conflict with some farm boys in the first school to which he was assigned and was apparently forced to resign his post.

Career

In April 1891, Benson left Otsego, Michigan, for Detroit, where he went to work for the Peninsular Car Company as a machine hand. He began to regularly visit the offices of the various Detroit newspapers in search of a position and was finally hired as a reporter, earning the starvation wage of $6 a week.