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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September 4, 1870
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Emperor Napoleon III of France is deposed, two days after his defeat and capture in the Franco-Prussian War. In Lyon, citizens rise up and declare the creation of a provisional revolutionary government.
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September 4, 1926
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Birth of philosopher and social critic Ivan Illich (1926-2002).
In Deschooling Society (1971) Illich argues against institutionalizing education in schools, and for alternatives approaches that include life-long learning in a variety of social settings.
In Tools for Conviviality, he critiques the institutionalization of specialized knowledge, which he says means the centralization of knowledge and power in the hands of an elite. He argues that it is necessary to “give people tools that guarantee their right to work with independent efficiency.”
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September 4, 1949
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Paul Robeson defies a racist red-baiting mob and sings to 15,000 at a Labour Day gathering in Peekskill, New York.
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September 4, 1970
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Salvador Allende, a moderate socialist, is elected President of Chile. Having failed in its efforts to prevent Allende’s election, the American CIA immediately begins efforts to overthrow him. They succeed in organizing a bloody coup on September 11, 1973.
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September 4, 1978
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Simultaneous demonstrations in Moscow’s Red Square and in front of the White House in Washington, D.C., organized by the War Resisters League, call for nuclear disarmament.
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