Statue of Peter J. McGuire in Arlington Cemetery.Peter J. McGuire
1852-1906
Peter J. McGuire was a founder of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and was First Secretary-Treasurer of the American Federation of Labor. He is credited with proposing the first Labor Day celebration, which was held in New York in 1882. It became a national holiday in 1894, when Grover Cleveland signed it into law. McGuire's birthplace has been listed as Dublin, Philadelphia, or New York, depending on which source you read. His final days were spent in Camden, NJ, and he is buried in Arlington Cemetery in Pennsauken, NJ.