A member of a 19th‐century protest group of British workers, who destroyed machinery, which they believed was depriving them of their livelihood. The movement began in Nottinghamshire in 1811, when framework knitters began wrecking the special type of ‘wide frames’ used to make poor‐quality stockings, which were undercutting the wages of skilled craftsmen. The men involved claimed to be acting under the leadership of a certain ‘Ned Ludd’ or ‘King Ludd’, although it is doubtful whether such a person ever existed. The outbreaks of violence spread rapidly and by the early part of 1812 were affecting Yorkshire and Lancashire. Large groups of men stormed the cotton and woollen mills in order to attack the power looms. The government responded harshly by making machine‐breaking an offence punishable by death. There were further sporadic outbreaks in 1816, but the movement subsequently died out.