John L. Lewis, the foremost national labor leader of his time, was born near Lucas, Iowa, the son of a Welsh immigrant miner. At age 16, he began work in the coal mines, and by 1906 he had been elected the United Mine Workers’ delegate from Lucas. He rose quickly in the organization, culminating in his election as United Mine Workers president in 1920. In 1938, he joined with others to form the Congress of Industrial Organizations, which later merged with the American Federation of Labor. His stern appearance and bushy eyebrows were well known to millions of Americans, who either loved or hated him for his activities in behalf of labor.