born May 14, 1867, Berlin, Prussia
died Feb. 21, 1919, Munich, Ger.
German journalist and politician.
From 1898 he was editor of Vorwärts , the official Social Democratic Party newspaper. He joined the Independent Social Democratic Party in 1917, later becoming its leader. In November 1918 he organized a Socialist revolution that overthrew the monarchy in Bavaria, and he became first prime minister and minister of foreign affairs of the new Bavarian republic. In February 1919 he was assassinated by a reactionary zealot.