Mary Harris "Mother" Jones
- Born:
- August 1, 1837, Cork, Ireland
- Died:
- November 30, 1930, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
- Nationality:
- Irish-American
- Profession(s):
- Labor Organizer, Activist
Early Life and Education
- Born in Cork, Ireland, and immigrated to North America with her family.
- Trained as a teacher in Toronto, Canada.
- Worked as a teacher and dressmaker before dedicating herself to labor activism.
- Lost her husband and four children to a yellow fever epidemic in 1867 in Memphis, Tennessee.
Career and Major Achievements
- Became a prominent organizer for the Knights of Labor and later the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA).
- Played a key role in numerous labor strikes, including the Coal Creek labor saga (1891-1892), the Paint Creek-Cabin Creek strike of 1912-1913, and the Colorado Coalfield War (1913-1914).
- Organized the "Children's Crusade" in 1903, marching children from Pennsylvania to President Theodore Roosevelt's home to protest child labor conditions.
- Co-founded the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) in 1905.
- Advocated for miners' rights, child labor laws, and improved working conditions.
- Known for her powerful speeches and ability to galvanize support for labor causes.
Legacy and Impact
Mary Harris "Mother" Jones left a lasting legacy as a tireless advocate for workers' rights and a powerful symbol of labor activism in the United States. She is remembered for her unwavering commitment to social justice and her role in shaping the labor movement.
Notable Works
- The Autobiography of Mother Jones (1925)
Further Information
For more in-depth information, a starting point could be a general search online. For example, resources such as the information available when researching 'mary harris jones wiki' can be useful for broadening knowledge about her life and work.