‘Red Tom’ the uncrowned king of Texas Socialism
Wed, 02/05/2020 - 12:00am
Thomas Aloysius Hickey was a socialist journalist, lecturer, and West Texas oilman born in Dublin, Ireland, on Jan. 14, 1869. His father and other members of his family were involved in the Socialist movement in Ireland. Tom left his home country at the age of 23 in 1892. The life of this Irishman is very well told in “‘Red Tom’ Hickey,” written by Peter Buckingham and published by Texas A&M University Press. This interesting book tells the story of Hickey that very few Texans know. The recognition of his name seems to be gauged by the popularity of Socialism at the time. Socialism in Texas has been very unpopular with citizens, but accepted by a few.
