EPISODE · Feb 13, 2026 · 33 MIN
Phossy Jaw & The Match Stick Girls Strike of 1888
from History and Hearsay · host Christina
In the 1800’s taking a job at a Match Factory could end in a very slow and agonizing death as your body began to rot from the inside out. Time Stamps0:00 - Intro 0:41 - Matches2:20 - Working conditions6:50 - Cornelia10:06 - Phosphorus 14:17 - The Dangers of White Phosphorous16:46 - Phossy Jaw 20:15 - Factory Conditions22:05 - Annie Besant25:33 - A Safer Way26:41 - The Walk Out28:23 - The Aftermath31:38 - Banning White Phosphorus Sources:https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Match-Girls-Strike/ https://www.rcseng.ac.uk/library-and-publications/library/blog/phossy-jaw-and-the-matchgirls/ 2022 Plaque: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/blue-plaques/match-girls-strike/ https://www.britannica.com/event/Match-Girls-Strike https://www.matchgirls1888.org/the-story-of-the-strike Additional references listed here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matchgirls'_strike Additional reading: Louise Raw, Striking a Light: The Bryant and May Matchwomen and their Place in Labour History (London, 2011) Lowell J Satre, ‘After the Match Girls’ Strike: Bryant and May in the 1890s’, Victorian Studies 26:1 (1982)Seth Coven, The Match Girl and the Heiress (Princeton, 2015)https://www.joms.org/article/S0278-2391(07)02033-2/abstract?cc=y https://www.rdhmag.com/pathology/periodontitis/article/16404967/the-return-of-the-dreaded-145phossy-jaw146 Netflix Film - Enola Holmes 2 - a fictionalized story about the lead-up to the walkout
What this episode covers
In the 1800’s taking a job at a Match Factory could end in a very slow and agonizing death as your body began to rot from the inside out. Time Stamps0:00 - Intro 0:41 - Matches2:20 - Working conditions6:50 - Cornelia10:06 - Phosphorus 14:17 - The Dangers of White Phosphorous16:46 - Phossy Jaw 20:15 - Factory Conditions22:05 - Annie Besant25:33 - A Safer Way26:41 - The Walk Out28:23 - The Aftermath31:38 - Banning White Phosphorus Sources:https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Match-Girls-Strike/ https://www.rcseng.ac.uk/library-and-publications/library/blog/phossy-jaw-and-the-matchgirls/ 2022 Plaque: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/blue-plaques/match-girls-strike/ https://www.britannica.com/event/Match-Girls-Strike https://www.matchgirls1888.org/the-story-of-the-strike Additional references listed here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matchgirls'_strike Additional reading: Louise Raw, Striking a Light: The Bryant and May Matchwomen and their Place in Labour History (London, 2011) Lowell J Satre, ‘After the Match Girls’ Strike: Bryant and May in the 1890s’, Victorian Studies 26:1 (1982)Seth Coven, The Match Girl and the Heiress (Princeton, 2015)https://www.joms.org/article/S0278-2391(07)02033-2/abstract?cc=y https://www.rdhmag.com/pathology/periodontitis/article/16404967/the-return-of-the-dreaded-145phossy-jaw146 Netflix Film - Enola Holmes 2 - a fictionalized story about the lead-up to the walkout
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Phossy Jaw & The Match Stick Girls Strike of 1888
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