Today in Labor History February 10, 1355: The St Scholastica Day riot broke out in Oxford, England. 63 scholars and up to 30 locals died in rioting. It started when two students from the University of Oxford complained about the quality of wine in a Tavern. The students’ quarrel with the tavern-keeper escalated to blows. Other customers joined in and […]

Today in Labor History February 9, 1886: President Cleveland declared martial law in Seattle because of anti-Chinese violence instigated by the Knights of Labor. The union, which was one of the first to organize workers of different ethnicities, as well as women, was notorious for their anti-Chinese sentiment. They participated in numerous other anti-Chinese riots

Today in Labor History February 8, 1805: Louis-Auguste Blanqui was born. He was a French revolutionary and participant in the Paris Commune. Blanqui took an active role in most republican conspiracies of the early to mid 1800s, both in France, and in Italy with the  Carbonari society, including the July Revolution of 1830. In 1840, the authorities condemned

Today in Labor History February 7, 1817: Frederick Douglass was born on this date in Tuckahoe, Maryland. After escaping slavery, he became a national leader of the abolition movement. He also supported the women’s suffrage movement and ran for vice president as running mate to Victoria Woodhull on the Equal Rights Party ticket. In addition

Today in Labor History February 6, 1694: The Brazilian authorities captured Dandara, warrior queen  of the runaway slaves in Quilombo dos Palmares. She committed suicide to avoid being forced back into slavery. Quilombo dos Palmares was a community of Afro-Brazilian people who freed themselves from enslavement. The community survived for nearly 90 years, before the government finally suppressed