Eugene V. Debs

American labor and political leader (1855–1926)

Eugene Victor "Gene" Debs (November 5, 1855 – October 20, 1926) was an American union leader, one of the founding members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW or the Wobblies), and a five times candidate of the Socialist Party of America for President of the United States.[1] Through his presidential candidacies, as well as his work with labor movements, Debs eventually became one of the best-known socialists living in the United States. He earned about a million votes in one election while being in prison.[2]

Eugene V. Debs
Debs in 1897
Member of the Indiana Senate
from the 8th district
In office
1885–1889
Personal details
Born
Eugene Victor Debs

(1855-11-05)November 5, 1855
Terre Haute, Indiana, U.S.
DiedOctober 20, 1926(1926-10-20) (aged 70)
Elmhurst, Illinois, U.S.
Political partySocialist
Other political
affiliations
Social Democratic
Democratic
Spouse(s)Kate Metzel (m. 1885)
Signature

Early life

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Debs was born on November 5, 1885 in Terre Haute, Indiana. He left school when he was 14 in order to work on scraping paint and grease off cars in the Vandalia Railroad on a 50 cent a day wage.[3]

References

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  1. "Eugene V. Debs". Time. November 1, 1926. Archived from the original on 2013-08-23. Retrieved 2007-08-21. As it must to all men, Death came last week to Eugene Victor Debs, Socialist
  2. McArdle, Terence. "The socialist who ran for president from prison — and won nearly a million votes". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2021-04-13.
  3. Lepore, Jill. "Eugene V. Debs and the Endurance of Socialism". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2021-04-23.