Seeds of Fire: A People’s Chronology

Recalling events that happened on this day in history.
Memories of struggle, resistance and persistence.

Compiled by Ulli Diemer

January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December
1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20  21  22  23  24  25  26  27  28  29  30  31  



December 1903  
Marie Curie, Pierre Curie, and Henri Bequerel are awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics. Marie Curie becomes the first woman to win a Nobel Prize.
Related Topics: PhysicsScientists
December 1, 1933  
The Nazi party, the NSDAP, becomes the state party in Germany: the only political party permitted to exist.
Related Topics: FascismNazi History
December 1, 1955
Rosa Parks (a seamstress and civil rights activist) refuses to give up her seat to a white man on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, and is arrested. Parks is not the first to defy the law, but her arrest sparks the successful year-long Montgomery Bus boycott, which eventually brings an end to segregation on buses.
At the time of her action, Parks was a member of the NAACP, and earlier in 1955 she had taken part in courses at the Highlander School where non-violent civil disobedience was discussed.
Related Topics: BoycottsCivil RightsDe-segregationJim Crow
December 1985  
The Manoir Richelieu dispute begins in Quebec when the Parti Quebecois sells the publicly owned Manoir Richelieu, a tourism heritage site, to a private owner. The new owner repudiates the existing contract with the unionized workforce of 350 workers, leading to a two-year labour struggle during which one worker dies at the hands of police. It is eventually revealed that the union, the CNTU, has been infiltrated by the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service, which has been working to manipulate events. The dispute ends with the 350 workers losing their jobs.
Related Topics: Labour HistoryUnion-busting
December 1994  
Mexican economic crisis begins.
Related Topics: Capitalist CrisesEconomic CrisesMexico



January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December
1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20  21  22  23  24  25  26  27  28  29  30  31  
For more information about people and events in Seeds of Fire, explore these pages: