Richard Griffiths (November, 1827 – April 28, 1891) was a Welsh-born American labor union leader. Born in

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

in Wales, Griffiths was inspired by the writings of

James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...

, and he ran away from home at the age of 14 to become a

cabin boy ''Cabin Boy'' is a 1994 American fantasy comedy film, directed by Adam Resnick and co-produced by Tim Burton, which starred comedian Chris Elliott. Elliott co-wrote the film with Resnick. Both Elliott and Resnick worked for '' Late Night with Dav ...

. After several trips to the West Indies, Griffiths settled in the United States, where he enrolled in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

. He served on the USS ''United States'' and was later promoted to sergeant. After leaving the marines, Griffiths settled in

Hopkinton, Massachusetts Hopkinton is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, west of Boston. The town is best known as the starting point of the Boston Marathon, held annually on Patriots' Day each April, and as the headquarters for the Dell EMC corpo ...

, where he became a boot crimper. He moved to

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

in 1864, and then to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. He was a founder member of the

Order of the Knights of St. Crispin The Order of the Knights of St. Crispin was an American labor union of shoe workers formed in Wisconsin in 1867. It soon reached a membership of 50,000 or more, largely in the Northeast. However it was poorly organized and faded away by 1874. The ...

, an early trade union, becoming its Deputy Grand Sir Knight in 1869. By 1871, the union was struggling, and Griffiths lost his job. He briefly moved to

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

but soon returned to Chicago. In 1876, the union was revived, and Griffiths refounded the Chicago local, although the union soon become defunct. In 1877, Charles H. Litchman inducted Griffiths into the

Knights of Labor Knights of Labor (K of L), officially Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor, was an American labor federation active in the late 19th century, especially the 1880s. It operated in the United States as well in Canada, and had chapters also ...

, and Griffiths established its first local in Chicago. He became its Master Workman, and from 1878 was the first person to serve as District Master Workman. In 1879, he was elected as Grand Worthy Foreman of the Knights of Labor, the union's second-in-command, serving until 1882, when he became treasurer. In 1884, he again became Grand Worthy Foreman, serving until 1888. From 1878 to 1880, Griffiths actively supported the

Greenback Party The Greenback Party (known successively as the Independent Party, the National Independent Party and the Greenback Labor Party) was an American political party with an anti-monopoly ideology which was active between 1874 and 1889. The party ran ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffiths, Richard 1827 births 1891 deaths American trade union leaders Knights of Labor people Trade unionists from Swansea Welsh emigrants to the United States