Labor Reformer. He is remembered for not only being active during the pioneer days of the American labor union movement but also the person who was behind the creation of the holiday of Labor Day. Born on the Atlantic Ocean as his parents, Christoper Maguire and Mary Strafford, immigrated to America, he became a simple machinist at the Columbia Iron Company in Brooklyn, New York. For his passion of improving working conditions for the common man, he led his first strike for a shorter work day in the 1870s. Workers were doing 12-hour work days seven days a week. By 1882 he had become the secretary of Paterson, New Jersey's Local 344 of the Machinists and Blacksmiths Union and one of the organizers and the secretary of the Central Labor Union of New York. Sponsored by the Central Labor Union of New York, the first Labor Day Parade was held in New York City on Tuesday, not on a Monday, September 5, 1882. Maguire and his wife, Martha McComick, rode in the first carriage in the parade along with Henry Ward Beecher, a social reformer and brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of “Uncle Tom's Cabin.” This event was to show employers the strength of their employees. The date of the parade was plan to coincide with a Knights of Labor conference in New York, thus guaranteeing a sizable crowd for the parade. Forfeiting a day's pay, between 10,000 and 25,000 workers and their families participated in the parade and picnic that followed. Maguire was the founder and the editor of the newspaper, “Paterson People” from 1893 to 1917 and served in the City of Paterson as an alderman from 1894 to 1898. He ran as a candidate for United States President at the Socialist Labor Party National Convention in 1896, but accepted the nomination of United States Vice President. His political ideas may have been a problem in his future as many mainstream Americans thought he was radical. In 1887 New Jersey was one of the first five states to pass legislation making Labor Day a state holiday, and on June 28, 1894 the United States Congress passed a bill designating the first Monday in September as a national holiday, Labor Day. The pen that United States President Grover Cleveland used to sign the bill was presented to Samuel Gompers of the American Federation of Labor. The New Jersey newspaper “the Paterson Morning Call” published in their July 2, 1894 edition, “Honor to Whom Honor is Due. The souvenir pen should go to Alderman Matthew Maguire of this city, who is the undisputed author of Labor Day as a holiday.” Then the article called him the “Father of the Labor Day holiday.” More evidence to support Maguire's credit was included in William S. Walsh 1898 book “Curiosities of Popular Customs,” which states, “In 1882 Matthew Maguire, Secretary of the Central Labor of New York City with the approval of the Union corresponded with the various Labor organization in the state with a view to setting aside one day in the year as their own holiday...Maguire was made chairman of the committee to arrange for the first labor day celebration in that year.” In 1912, B. E. and E. B. Stevenson penned the “History of Labor Day” in their book “Days and Deeds”, “To Matthew Maguire Secretary of the Central Labor Council of New York City belongs the credit of the execution of the first Labor Day.” In 1897 Peter McGuire claimed credit for establishing Labor Day as he was also a part of the formation of the Central Labor Union of New York and spoke at that first Labor Day celebration. A huge memorial with his statue was erected in 1952 at his grave site. To add to the confusion, the State of New Hampshire claims their George McGuire, depending on what source, is the “Father of Labor Day,” With similar sounding names, this can cause a confusion. According to Ted Watts' book “The First Labor Day Parade,” Maguire's politics were too radical for Samuel Gompers of the American Federation of Labor, hence Gompers stated his friend Peter McGuire started the holiday and sweeping Matthew Maguire's achievements under the rug. The New Jersey Historical Society researched for “the Father of Labor Day” finding the evidence quoted here that Matthew Maguire was him, and the United States Department of Labor is recognizing this find.