Today in Labor History—September 6

Jane Addams, c1915

September 6, 1860 – The founder of Hull House, Jane Addams, was born on this date in 1860. Addams, an activist for peace and women’s rights, was a co-winner of the Nobel Prize in 1931. Her “settlement houses” served immigrant families working in Chicago’s packinghouses. (From Workday Minnesota)

Avondale Mine Disaster (Harpers, 1869)

 September 6, 1869 - The Avondale mine disaster occurred on this date in 1869, killing 110 workers and leading to the first mine safety law in Pennsylvania. (From Workday Minnesota)

Czolgosz Assassinating McKinley

 September 6, 1901 – President William McKinley was shot by professed anarchist Leon Czolgosz, supposedly in the name of workers. Czolgosz, however, had been repudiated by numerous anarchist groups. (From the Daily Bleed)

September 6, 1912 - Duluth streetcar drivers went on strike. (From Workday Minnesota)

September 6, 1963 – Four young black girls were killed in Birmingham, Alabama, in a racist, church bombing. The defendants finally went to trial in May, 2000. (From the Daily Bleed)

September 6, 1966 – Margaret Sanger died on this date in 1966. Sanger was a sex reformer, birth-control advocate, anti-authoritian, socialist, and eugenicist. She was active in the Socialist party, but was friends with communists, like John Reed, and anarchists like Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman. She is said to have coined the phrase "birth control" in her magazine, "Woman Rebel," in 1914. The magazine bore the slogan "No Gods; No Masters!" on its masthead. Sanger participated in the Patterson Textile Strike of 1913, and was a contributor to Hippolyte Havel's "Revolt,"Emma Goldman's "Mother Earth," Alexander Berkman's "The Blast," & "The Modern School" magazine. (From the Daily Bleed)