Terence
Powderly,
the son of Irish immigrants, was born
in Pennsylvania on 22nd January, 1849. He worked as a machinist and
joined the Knights of Labor in 1874.
He advanced rapidly in the organization and after five years was appointed
as grand master workman, the union's highest post. He was instrumental
in the establishment of labor bureaus and arbitration systems in a
large number of states.
Representing the Greenback-Labor
Party, Powderly was elected three times as mayor of Scranton, Pennsylvania,
serving from 1878 to 1884.
The author of
Thirty
Years of Labour
(1889), Powderly was appointed U.S. Commissioner General of Information
(1897-1902) and head of the Division of Information in the Bureau
of Immigration (1907-21). Terence
Powderly
died on 24th June, 1924. His autobiography, The
Path I Trod
(1940) was published posthumously.
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