Among the many notable and not-so notable Jews who started life in Kaunas, including the great grandfather of the man behind Ali G and Borat, Sasha Baron Cohen, perhaps the most notorious individual to be born in the city was Emma Goldman. Born on June 27, 1869, the world’s most famous anarchist and the first female political prisoner in the United States came from a well-to-do Yiddish-speaking family and was embracing feminism, free love and human rights in general at an early age. Emigrating to the United States in her teens where she joined the Russian proletariat, Goldman earned a living as a seamstress whilst developing a career as a hardened political agitator. As well as serving a 12-month sentence for inciting a riot, she was also implicated in the assassination of President William McKinley, although nothing was ever proved. Branded America’s Most Hated Woman, Goldman was deported to the Soviet Union in 1919, where she rapidly grew disillusioned with Lenin’s regime and was soon back in the West, writing books, stirring up trouble and fighting for causes around the world. After suffering two strokes, Emma Goldman died in Toronto on May 14, 1940. Her books, wildly zealous and years ahead of their time, are well worth checking out.