Samuel Gompers is one of those names you vaguely remember from AP U.S. History, along with The Grange and the Know-Nothings. They fit in somehow, but you don’t exactly remember why. While he may not be on the tips of people’s tongues, he does have a rather large monument on Massachusetts Avenue NW near Mount Vernon Square.

Gompers, born in London in 1850, was a major figure in the American labor movement, organizing and serving as president of the American Federation of Labor, which later merged with the Congress of Industrial Organizations to form the AFL-CIO.

At the AFL, Gompers mainly focused on legislation directly involved with working, such as eight hour days, and he also allied the AFL with the Democrats and fought against Socialism and radicalism in the labor movement. This brought him some foes on the left, who later formed their own more leftist unions like the Industrial Workers of the World.

His large monument, located on Massachusetts Avenue NW between 10th and 11th Streets in a triangle called Samuel Gompers Park, features an about twice life size Gompers, dressed in modern clothes and sitting in a chair. The bronze sculpture is on a tall granite base, and he’s surrounded allegorical figures reading and shaking hands, who symbolize education, justice, cooperation and unity. There’s also a steam engine included in the sculpture symbolizing industry, and the base has inscriptions from Gompers’ speeches. The monument is ironically across the street from the libertarian Cato Institute.

Photo by Cowtools