He was born in
Westford, Vermont, and later moved to Ballardvale section of
Andover, Massachusetts. A one-time proponent of
Georgist minarchism, he converted to
individualist anarchism after associating with
Benjamin Tucker. He was a firm believer in the promotion of individualist anarchism through education. He said "Anarchism has undertaken to change men's minds in one point by removing their faith in force" (
Quasi-Invasion and the Boycott in
Liberty, X, 2). He began a "Letter Writing Corps" in 1894 which targeted specific individuals, including newspapers, to familiarize others with the philosophical doctrine. He is known for translating two important anarchist works into English from German:
Max Stirner's
The Ego and Its Own and
Paul Eltzbacher's
Anarchism; exponents of the anarchist philosophy (also published by Dover with the title
The Great Anarchists: Ideas and Teachings of Seven Major Thinkers). Byington was a cum laude graduate of the
University of Vermont in 1891 and a member of the prestigious
Phi Beta Kappa. He was considered a master of at least twelve languages, including classical languages. Paul specifically mentions his "some ability" in Arabic and Zulu, plus European languages. His writings included observations on new forms and changed usage of English words, publishing 25 articles in the journal
American Speech from 1926 to 1946. However, he had a "handicap of speech" which made preaching difficult so despite his seminary training, he spent many years working as a proofreader. ==See also==