John L. Lewis – 1880–1969

With his bulldog chin and dramatically heavy eyebrows, Lewis was a formidable-looking figure who came to symbolize the labor movement in America from roughly 1920 to 1960. He was president of the United Mine Workers of America (1920–1960) and principal founder of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), serving as its president from 1936 to 1940. With genius and determination, Lewis exploited President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal to carve out a strong position for labor even in the depths of the Great Depression.