History
Supposedly, Ned Ludd was a weaver from Anstey, near Leicester. He is described as an "idiot" or "half-witted", suggesting he had a mental disability. In 1779, either after being whipped for idleness, or after being taunted by local youths, he smashed two knitting frames in what was described as a "fit of passion". This story is tracable to an article in The Nottingham Review on 20 December 1811, but there is no independent evidence of its truth. John Blackner's book History of Nottingham, also published in 1811, provides a variant tale, of a lad called "Ludnam" who was told by his father, a framework-knitter, to "square his needles". Ludnam took a hammer and "beat them into a heap". News of the incident spread, and whenever frames were sabotaged, people would jokingly say "Ned Ludd did it". Nothing more is known about the life of Ludd.
By 1812, the organized frame-breakers who became known as the Luddites had begun using the name King Ludd or Captain Ludd for their mythical leader. Letters and proclamations were signed by "Ned Ludd".
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