Elizabeth Gurley Flynn

Born Aug. 7, 1890, in Concord, N.H.; died Sept. 5, 1964, in Moscow. American labor movement figure.

Flynn was the daughter of an Irish laborer. She joined the Socialist Party and the Industrial Workers of the World in 1906. During World War I she spread propaganda against the war. In 1937 she joined the Communist Party of the USA and was elected a member of the National Committee of the Communist Party in 1938. In 1951, along with other members of the party and a number of progressive organizations, Flynn was brought to trial on a charge of violating the Smith Act. She was imprisoned from 1955 to 1957. In 1957, Flynn became a member of the National Committee and the Executive Committee of the Communist Party of the USA. She was vice-chairman of the party’s National Committee from 1959 to 1961 and chairman from 1961.