Berger, Victor

Berger, Victor (Louis)

(born Feb. 28, 1860, Nieder-Rehbach, Austria-Hungary—died Aug. 7, 1929, Milwaukee, Wis., U.S.) Cofounder of the U.S. Socialist Party. He immigrated to the U.S. from Austria-Hungary in 1878, founded a German-language newspaper in 1892, and edited the Social Democratic Herald (later Milwaukee Leader) from 1898 to 1929. With Eugene V. Debs he founded the Social Democratic Party, which became the Socialist Party in 1901. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives (1911–13) as the first Socialist ever elected to Congress. Elected again in 1918, he was denied his seat after being convicted under the Espionage Act for opposing U.S. participation in World War I. His conviction was overturned, and he again served in the House (1923–29) and succeeded Debs as Socialist Party chairman (1927–29).