born March 3, 1873, Coshocton, Ohio, U.S.
died Nov. 21, 1952, Coshocton
U.S. labour leader, president of the American Federation of Labor (AFL).
He was a coal miner from age 16. He worked his way up through the union hierarchy and was elected president of the AFL in 1924, a post he kept until his death. The formation in 1935 of the Committee for Industrial Organization (CIO), headed by John L. Lewis , led to bitter public disputes between the two men, ending in the expulsion of the CIO from the AFL in 1936. See also AFL-CIO ; labour union .