September 6 - Jane Addams is Born

Labor History in 2:00 · Sep 6, 2026 · 1m

On this day in Labor History the year was 1860.

That was the day that Jane Addams was born in Cedarville, Illinois.

Her family was wealthy and her father served as a state senator.

In 1881, Jane Adams visited London with her friend Ellen Gates Starr.

There the two women were inspired by Toynbee Hall, a settlement house which worked with the poor and working class in the city.

They decided to establish a similar effort in Chicago.

They founded Hull House in an immigrant neighborhood of Italian, Greek and Jewish workers.

Hull House grew to become a complex of facilities that offered…