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
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November 3, 1896
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In the Greek city of Patras, Dimitris Matsalis, an anarchist shoemaker, attacks a banker and a merchant with a knife, killing one and seriously wounding the other.
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November 3, 1903
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Encouraged by U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, rebels in what is now Panama (then part of Colombia), declare Panama an independent state. The U.S. immediately sends a warship to prevent the Colombian government from taking action to oppose the rebels. Less than two weeks later, a treaty is signed giving the U.S. control of the Panama Canal Zone in perpetuity. The treaty is actually negotiated between an American representative and a French businessman; no Panamanian is permitted to take part, although the new Panamanian government is subsequently permitted to ‘approve’ the already signed treaty. U.S. troops are sent to ‘protect American interests’; they remain until 1914.
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November 3, 1903
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Birth of Walker Evans (1903-1975), American photographer best known for documenting the effects on the Great Depression, especially on rural people in the South.
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November 3, 1918
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German sailors in Kiel revolt, demanding “peace and bread,” and the release of their comrades who have been imprisoned for refusing orders. Troops sent to put down the mutiny either return to their bases, or join the uprising. Sailors, soldiers and workers elect councils which take control of the towns of Kiel and Wilhelmshaven. Over the next few days, workers’ and soldiers’ councils arise across Germany. The German Kaiser, Wilhelm II, abdicates and goes into exile. On November 9, a republic is proclaimed, and on November 11, the war ends.
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November 3, 1972
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Five hundred protesters from the “Trail of Broken Treaties,” a Native American march, begin a six-day occupation of the Bureau of Indian Affairs offices in Washington, D.C.
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November 3, 1979
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Armed Ku Klux Klan members attack an anti-Klan rally in Greensboro, North Carolina, killing five and injuring ten others. Although the attack is captured on film, two all-white juries go on to acquit the murderers.
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