August 25 - An Historic Irony

Labor History in 2:00 · Aug 25, 2026 · 1m

On this day in Labor History the year was 1819.

That was the day at Allan Pinkerton was born in Glasgow, Scotland.

His father was a policeman, who died while Allan was a boy.

This left the family in poverty.

As a young man he became involved in the Chartism movement.

This reform movement hoped to expand the political rights of the working class in Great Britain.

Allan had to flee his homeland to avoid arrest because of his involvement.

This led him to Chicago.

It is a great historic irony that Allan Pinkerton came to the United States because of his involvement in a working class cause.

Today…