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Mary Harris Jones: Biography, Facts and Career

Who is Mary Harris Jones? An evergreen, sourced profile: biography, key facts and career.

By the Pop Culture Files editorial team4 min read✓ Fact-checked
Mary Harris Jones
Bertha Howell. via Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

Mary G. Harris Jones (baptized August 1, 1837 – November 30, 1930), known as Mother Jones from 1897 onward, was an American labor organizer, schoolteacher, and dressmaker who became a prominent union organizer, community organizer, and activist. She helped coordinate major strikes, secure bans on child labor, and co-founded the trade union Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). After Jones's husband and four children all died of yellow fever in 1867 and her dress shop was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, she became an organizer for the Knights of Labor and the United Mine Workers of America union. In 1902, she was called "the most dangerous woman in America" for her success in organizing miners and their families against the mine owners. In 1903, to protest the lax enforcement of the child labor laws in the Pennsylvania mines and silk mills, she organized a children's march from Philadelphia to the home of President Theodore Roosevelt in New York.

Quick facts about Mary Harris Jones

  • Full name: Mary Harris Jones
  • Born: 1830-05-01
  • Nationality: United States
  • Known as: Author
  • Wikidata ID: Q107082

Profile compiled from public Wikipedia and Wikidata data. Details can change over time.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Mary Harris Jones?

Mary G.

What nationality is Mary Harris Jones?

Mary Harris Jones is United States.

When was Mary Harris Jones born?

Mary Harris Jones was born on 1830-05-01.

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