Luddite

Luddite, member of the organized bands of 19th-century English handicraftsmen who rioted for the destruction of the textile machinery that was displacing them. The movement began in the vicinity of Nottingham toward the end of 1811 and in the next year spread to Yorkshire, Lancashire, Derbyshire, and Leicestershire. The “Ludds,” or Luddites, were generally masked and operated at night. Their leader, real or imaginary, was known as King Ludd, after a probably mythical Ned Ludd....