Question

Who was Terence Powderly?

Answer 1

Terence Vincent Powderly was an American labor union leader, politician and attorney, best known as head of the Knights of Labor in the late 1880s. He was elected mayor of Scranton, Pennsylvania, for three 2-year terms, starting in 1878.

Answer 2

Terence V. Powderly, in full Terence Vincent Powderly, (born January 22, 1849, Carbondale, Pennsylvania, U.S.—died June 24, 1924, Washington, D.C.), American labour leader and politician who led the Knights of Labor (KOL) from 1879 to 1893.

Powderly, the son of Irish immigrants to the United States, became a railroad worker at the age of 13 in Pennsylvania. At 17 he became a machinist’s apprentice, and he worked at that trade until age 28. He joined the Machinists’ and Blacksmiths’ Union in 1871 and rose steadily within the organization. In 1874 he joined the secret order of the Knights of Labor, in which he also advanced rapidly. In 1879 he was chosen grand master workman (after 1883, general master workman), the union’s highest post. In addition to his union activities, Powderly was also elected mayor of Scranton, Pennsylvania, three times as a Greenback-Labor candidate, serving from 1878 to 1884.