Today in History August 30, 1797: Mary Shelley, English novelist and playwright was born. She is most famous for her novel, “Frankenstein.” However, Shelley wrote several other novels. She was also a political radical throughout her life. Shelley married the romantic poet, Percy Bysshe Shelly. Her father was the early anarchist philosopher, William Godwin. And her […]
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Today in Labor History July 17, 1913: Seattle’s Potlatch Riots began, when soldiers and sailors brawled with members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) during Seattle’s Potlatch Festival. Alden Blethen, publisher of the “Seattle Times,” who hated free speech and feared “radical elements,” had been fanning the flames of reaction against the IWW and local
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Today in Labor History August 29, 1786: Shays’ Rebellion began in Massachusetts. It was an armed uprising of farmers and tradesmen in response to a debt crisis among the citizenry and in opposition to the state government’s increased efforts to collect taxes both on individuals and their trades. Revolutionary War veteran Daniel Shays led four thousand rebels (called Shaysites) in a protest against
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Today in Labor History August 28, 1749: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was born. Ralph Waldo Emerson considered Goethe to be one of the greatest writers of all time. Goethe was an early participant in the Sturm und Drang literary movement. He was friends with the philosopher Friedrich Schiller. His most celebrated drama was “Faust.” However, German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer named Goethe’s novel, “Wilhelm Meister’s
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1600s Today in Labor History August 22, 1614: The Fettmilch Rising occurred in Frankfurt, a pogrom by artisans against the Jews.Vincenz Fettmilch led the riot through the Judengasse (Jewish Ghetto), attacking and looting their properties and expelling the Jews from the city. The Frankfurt Judengasse was one of the earliest and largest ghettos in Germany. The pogrom was a
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