Today in Labor History January 30th, 2025

 

Saul Alinsky

After capturing Washington, D.C. the British burned the U.S. Capitol, destroying the Library of Congress and its 3,000-volume collection. Thomas Jefferson, in retirement at Monticello, offered to sell his personal library to the Library Committee of Congress in order to rebuild the collection of the Congressional Library - 1814

Organizer Saul Alinsky was born on this date in Chicago, Illinois. – 1909

The Paris Peace Conference established the Commission on International Labour Legislation to draft the constitution of a permanent international labor organization, founding the International Labour Organization (ILO).  Today, as part of the United Nations, the ILO is charged with drafting and overseeing international labor standards. – 1919

The greatest maritime disaster in history occurred as the German ocean liner Wilhelm Gustloff was sunk by a Soviet submarine, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 9,000 people - 1945

Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi—considered the father of his country and internationally esteemed for his doctrine of nonviolent protest (satyagraha) to achieve political and social progress—was assassinated on this day in 1948