John Fehrenbatch

(June 29, 1844-Dec. 21, 1930). Born in Rochester, New York, Fehrenbatch went to work in a woolen factory in that city at age eight. In 1861, he moved to Indianapolis where he was elected president of the local Machinists’ and Blacksmiths’ Union No. 4.

In 1865, following a Workingmen’s Party convention in Indianapolis that he helped organize, Fehrenbatch was instrumental in forming Eight-Hour Leagues all over Indiana. In 1866, he became the leader of the Grand Eight-Hour League and was able to pressure both major parties to support the eight-hour workday in their 1866 campaign platforms.

Having been elected president of the Machinists’ and Blacksmiths’ International Union in 1870, Fehrenbatch moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where he became the editor of the Machinists’ And Blacksmiths’ International Union Journal. In 1873, he served as the president of the Industrial Congress held in Cleveland, and, in 1876, he was elected to a single term in the Ohio state legislature.

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