18 December 1878: the end of the Molly Maguires

On this day in 1878, the Molly Maguires – a secret society formed in Ireland – ceased to exist with the hanging of the last of 20 condemned members of the group in the United States.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, the focus of Irish agriculture shifted from potato farming to livestock rearing, leading to widespread eviction of tenant farmers. Many emigrated to England or America; others starved in the famine of 1845 to 1852. But some formed secret societies to fight back. The Molly Maguires were one of the best known.

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Dr Matthew Partridge
Shares editor, MoneyWeek

Matthew graduated from the University of Durham in 2004; he then gained an MSc, followed by a PhD at the London School of Economics.

He has previously written for a wide range of publications, including the Guardian and the Economist, and also helped to run a newsletter on terrorism. He has spent time at Lehman Brothers, Citigroup and the consultancy Lombard Street Research.

Matthew is the author of Superinvestors: Lessons from the greatest investors in history, published by Harriman House, which has been translated into several languages. His second book, Investing Explained: The Accessible Guide to Building an Investment Portfolio, is published by Kogan Page.

As senior writer, he writes the shares and politics & economics pages, as well as weekly Blowing It and Great Frauds in History columns He also writes a fortnightly reviews page and trading tips, as well as regular cover stories and multi-page investment focus features.

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