Ralph Chaplin

Born in Kansas in 1887 and raised in Chicago, Ralph Chaplin became a writer, artist, and activist whose work was deeply shaped by labor struggles he witnessed from a young age. He became closely associated with the Industrial Workers of the World and used both words and images to support working people.

Chaplin is best known as the author of "Solidarity Forever," written in 1915, a song that went on to become one of the best-known anthems in American labor history. He also edited labor publications and created striking artwork and cartoons that helped define the visual culture of radical union organizing.

His activism came at a cost: during World War I, he was imprisoned under the Espionage Act along with other IWW members. Even so, he continued writing, and his later work, including Wobbly: The Rough-and-Tumble Story of an American Radical, helped preserve the history of the movement he had served for decades. He died in 1961.