Eugene V. Debs, born on this day in 1855, was an American socialist, trade unionist, founding member of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), and five time presidential candidate of the Socialist Party of America.

Through his presidential candidacies and labor organizing, Debs eventually became one of the best-known socialists living in the United States.

While in prison for leading the Pullman Strike, Debs read various works of socialist theory and emerged six months later as a committed adherent to the international socialist movement.

Debs was a founding member of the Social Democracy of America (1897), the Social Democratic Party of America (1898) and the Socialist Party of America (1901). Debs ran as a Socialist candidate for President of the United States five times, including 1900 (earning 0.6% of the popular vote), 1904 (3.0%), 1908 (2.8%), 1912 (6.0%) and 1920 (3.4%), the last time from a prison cell. He was also a candidate for United States Congress from his native state Indiana in 1916.

Debs was noted for his fiery oration. In 1918, Debs was arrested after giving a speech denouncing American participation in World War I. He was convicted under the Sedition Act of 1918 and sentenced to a term of 10 years. In his speech to the court, Debs provided one of his most well-known quotes:

"Your Honor, years ago I recognized my kinship with all living beings, and I made up my mind that I was not one bit better than the meanest on earth. I said then, and I say now, that while there is a lower class, I am in it, and while there is a criminal element, I am of it, and while there is a soul in prison, I am not free."