Christopher Evans (March 8, 1841 – November 5, 1924) was a British-born American labor union leader. Born in Upper Gornal, then in

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

, to Welsh parents, Evans was working in a coal mine by the age of 10. He emigrated to the United States in 1869, settling in

Mercer County, Pennsylvania Mercer County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 110,652. Its county seat is Mercer, Pennsylvania, Mercer, and ...

, to work in a coal mine. There, he promoted labor unionism, set up a miners' institute, and organized a literary society at the mine. In 1873, he founded a local lodge of the Miners' and Laborers' Benevolent Association. That year, he was the Shenango Valley delegate to the founding conference of the Miners' National Association, and a couple of months later, he affiliated his lodge with the new association. Evans came to New Straitsville in 1875, to collect money for striking miners in Mercer County. He received a strong response there, and after the failure of the strike in 1876, he moved to the new town. During this period, he promoted the

Knights of Labor The Knights of Labor (K of L), officially the Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor, was the largest American labor movement of the 19th century, claiming for a time nearly one million members. It operated in the United States as well in ...

. In 1877, the local miners went on strike, and Evans spoke at secret meetings at Robinson's Cave, then negotiated a pay rise which ended the industrial action. By the 1880s, Evans was becoming disillusioned with the Knights of Labor, which he saw as ineffective. In 1882, he was a founder of the Ohio Miners' Amalgamated Association, and he served on a relief committee during another local miners' strike. In 1885, Evans was the founding secretary of the National Federation of Miners and Mine Laborers. He negotiated a merger between it and the mining sections of the Knights of Labor, which formed the

United Mine Workers of America The United Mine Workers of America (UMW or UMWA) is a North American labor union best known for representing coal miners. Today, the Union also represents health care workers, truck drivers, manufacturing workers and public employees in the Unit ...

in 1890. His role in the process increased his profile such that in 1889, he was elected as secretary of the

American Federation of Labor The American Federation of Labor (A.F. of L.) was a national federation of labor unions in the United States that continues today as the AFL-CIO. It was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions eager to provide mutual ...

, serving until 1894. He then became a full-time organizer and statistician, working for the

. In 1905, while organizing in

Trinidad, Colorado Trinidad is the List of cities and towns in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality that is the county seat of and the List of cities and towns in Colorado, most populous municipality in Las Animas County, Colorado, United Stat ...

, Evans was beaten unconscious by three masked men on a train. After this, he chose to write a two-volume ''History of the United Mine Workers of America''. He died in 1924.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Chris 1841 births 1924 deaths American trade union leaders English emigrants to the United States Knights of Labor people People from Gornal, West Midlands People from Staffordshire (before 1974) Trade unionists from Staffordshire Trade unionists from the West Midlands United Mine Workers of America people Secretary-Treasurers of the American Federation of Labor