This Day in History: 1830-08-01

Mother Jones, one of America’s most effective labor organizers at the turn of the 20th century, was born this day in Cork, Ireland, in 1830. From the 1890s through the 1920s, Mary Harris (“Mother”) Jones led strikes, protests and picket lines in coalfields and industrial centers across the US. She was especially opposed to child labor and exploitation of women. Industrialists called her the most dangerous woman in the country, but her reply was often: “Pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living.” Her autobiography is available in text format and also as a Librivox podcast.