Labor History

1500s Today in Labor History January 23, 1546: François Rabelais published the “Tiers Livre,” his sequel to Gargantua and Pantagruel. It was his first publication in eleven years. Today in Labor History January 23, 1556: The deadliest earthquake in history hit Shaanxi province, China. As many as 830,000 people died. Most of the residents lived in yaodongs, artificial cliff caves that collapsed and buried them […]

1800s Today in Labor History January 22, 1849: Terence Powderly, leader of the Knights of Labor, and mayor of Scranton, PA, was born on this date. the KOL attracted and spawned many radicals, including Daniel DeLeon. He went on to cofound the IWW and the Socialist Labor Party. Two of the Haymarket martyrs were also KOL members.

Today in Labor History January 21, 1525: Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz and George Blaurock founded the Swiss Anabaptist movement by baptizing each other and breaking a thousand-year tradition of church-state union. The Anabaptists were considered Radical Reformers. They preached against hate, killing, violence, taking oaths, participating in use of force or any military actions and against participation in civil government.

1800s Today in Labor History January 20, 1872: Filipino soldiers staged a bloody revolt against Spanish rule known as the Cavite Mutiny. Around 200 locally recruited colonial troops and laborers rose up hoping that it would escalate into a national uprising. However, government forces quickly put down the mutiny. They executed many of the participants and cracked

Today in Labor History January 19, 1764: The British House of Commons expelled John Wilkes for seditious libel. Wilkes was a radical journalist and politician who fought for the right of his voters, rather than the House of Commons, to determine their representatives. In 1768, the authorities arrested him. His supporters protested and soldiers shot them in the St George’s Fields Massacre.