Today in Labor History December 17, 1760: Deborah Sampson was born on this date in Massachusetts. Sampson disguised herself as a man in order to fight with the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. She called herself Robert Shirtliff (as in don’t lift my shirt) and stood 5’9”, taller than the average man in those days. Sampson fought in several skirmishes with British forces before being wounded and discovered and then discharged from the army. She later petitioned the state to be repaid the wages that had been denied her because she was a woman. The legislature granted her petition and Governor John Hancock signed it. There are several other women known to have secretly fought in this war.
1800s
Today in Labor History December 17, 1830: Latin American liberationist Simón Bolivar died on this date in Santa Marta, Columbia.
Today in Labor History December 17, 1875: Violent bread riots occurred on this date in Montreal.
1910s
Today in Labor History December 17, 1918: 1,000 workers, led by Harold Nelson and the Australian Workers’ Union, marched on Government House in Darwin, Australia & demanded the resignation of the territory’s Administrator, John Gilruth. They were protesting unemployment, taxation, high prices, lack of political representation and corruption by the district’s two main employers: Vestey’s Meatworks and the Commonwealth of Australia. They roughed up Gilruth as he attempted to flee inside, broke windows and burned Gilruth’s effigy. Gilruth later admitted that if he had he promised to reduce the price of beer (at taxpayers’ expense) the mob would have left peacefully. The Government responded by sending a gunboat. Most people were unaware of the rebellion for several days due to wartime censorship. The press blamed a Soviet establishment in Darwin, along with an uncaring federal government and Gilruth himself.
1920s
Today in Labor History December 17, 1927: The authorities hanged Indian revolutionary Rajendra Lahiri in Gonda jail, Uttar Pradesh. He was the mastermind behind Kakori conspiracy and Dakshineshwar bombing. He was also an active member of Hindustan Republican Association, which was trying to kick the British from India.
Today in Labor History December 17, 1928: Indian revolutionaries Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar and Shivaram Rajguru assassinated British police officer James Saunders in Lahore, Punjab. They did it to avenge the death of Lala Lajpat Rai at the hands of the police. The authorities executed them in 1931.
1950s
Today in Labor History December 17, 1951: American Civil Rights Congress (CRC) delivered their “We Charge Genocide” paper to the UN. They accused the U.S. government of genocide based on the UN Genocide Convention, citing many instances of lynching, legal discrimination, disenfranchisement of blacks in the South, police brutality and systematic inequalities in health and quality of life. The U.S. government and press accused the CRC of promoting Communism. The State Department forced CRC secretary William L. Patterson to surrender his passport after presenting the petition to the UN.
2000s
December 17, 2003: Sex work rights activists establish December 17 (or “D17”) as International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers to memorialize victims of Seattle’s Green River killer, who targeted prostitutes, and to highlight State violence against sex workers by police and others.