Vincent Saint John
Vincent Saint John | |
---|---|
Born | 1876 |
Died | 1929 (aged 52–53) |
Resting place | Oakland, California |
Occupation(s) | Miner, Labor leader |
Parent(s) | Silas St. John and "Mary" Cecilia Magee |
Vincent Saint John (1876–1929) was an American labor leader and prominent Wobbly, among the most influential radical labor leaders of the 20th century.
Biography
Vincent St. John was born in Newport, Kentucky and was the only son of New York City native Silas St. John and Irish immigrant Marian "Mary" Cecilia Magee. He had a sister two years younger named Helen.
The family moved frequently, Silas going wherever he could to find employment as a clerk or bookkeeper. St. John worked as a miner from the age of seventeen, moving to Telluride, Colorado in 1897. In 1900 St. John became president of the Western Federation of Miners' Union Local 63 at Telluride. He led the 1901 strike in that mining camp to a successful conclusion, gaining a standard minimum wage for the miners.
He was shadowed by
Bulkeley Wells, a Telluride mining company president and manager who was "born to privilege... [and was] convinced laborers were beneath him," was intent upon hanging St. John. Wells conspired with others, including Pinkerton manager James McParland, to accuse the head of the WFM local of conducting a "reign of terror" — and in particular, of murdering William J. Barney, a mine guard who had left his post. There was one significant complicating factor: Barney was not dead, but had merely failed to notify anyone that he had left.[1]
On 5 November 1907 St. John was shot in
Vincent St. John died in San Francisco in June 1929 following a protracted illness.[6] He is buried in Oakland, California.
References
- ISBN 1-932738-02-9.
- ^ Hermida, Arianne. "IWW Yearbook 1907". IWW History Project. University of Washington. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
- ^ "Vincent St. John Victim of Gunman". Industrial Union Bulletin. Vol. 1, no. 38. 16 November 1907. p. 1.
- ISBN 0-252-06964-1.
- ^ "Two War Offenders Freed From Prison" (PDF). New York Times (June 28). 1922. Retrieved 2008-10-18.
- ^ "Vincent St. John, IWW Aide, Dies," San Francisco Examiner, vol. 130, no. 174 (June 23, 1929), p. 16.
External links
- Works by Vincent Saint John at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)