Daniel John O'Donoghue
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Daniel John O'Donoghue (August 1, 1844 – January 16, 1907) was a printer, labour leader and political figure in Ontario.
He was born near Killarney in Ireland in 1844 and came to Canada with his parents in 1852. Required to support his family after the death of his father, he became an apprentice to a printer in Ottawa at 13. He later spent time learning his trade as a printer while working in various places in the United States. In 1866, he returned to work in Ottawa, where he helped form Ottawa Typographical Union, later part of the International Typographical Union. In 1872, with Donald Robertson, he convinced Sir John A. Macdonald to introduce legislation legalizing trade unions. Later that year, O'Donoghue and Robertson helped found the Ottawa Trades Council; O'Donoghue became president in 1873. Later that year, he led an unsuccessful strike for a nine hour day for printers. Also during that year, he helped found the Canadian Labour Union and became its first vice-president.
He was elected to represent Ottawa in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in an 1874 by-election. He was reelected in 1875 but was defeated in 1879. During his time in office, he lobbied for extending the vote to more people in the province, although he opposed extending the vote to women. He moved to Guelph, where he edited a paper. In 1880, he began work at the World and became a member of the Toronto Typographical Union. He helped found the Toronto Trades and Labor Council in 1881. In 1883, he helped form the Trades and Labour Congress of Canada. He also helped convince the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church in Canada to accept rather than oppose a new international labour organization, the Knights of Labor. O'Donoghue served ten years on the board of the Toronto Technical School, which helped train workers. He worked at the Ontario Bureau of Industries, a provincial statistical agency that collected information on labour and industry. In 1900, he became the first fair-wage officer for Canada, working first at the Department of Public Works and then the Department of Labour. He became ill in 1906 while working in British Columbia as part of his functions in that post and died in Toronto in 1907.
O'Donoghue is recognized as one of the original founders of organized labour in Canada.
