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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May 14, 1771
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Birth of Robert Owen (1771-1858), British social reformer and early socialist.
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May 14, 1931
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Swedish soldiers called in to break a strike by pulp and paper workers in the Adalen district open fire on unarmed strikers, killing five and injuring others.
One of the soldiers is subsequently court-martialed for his actions – and sentenced to three days’ imprisonment. A number of demonstrators, on the other hand, are given long sentences for participating in the demonstration that was attacked by the soldiers. In addition, the publishers of several left-wing papers who condemn the shootings are charged and convicted for violating the “Freedom of the Press Act”.
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May 14, 1968
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In the continuing May 1968 protests, French workers begin occupying factories, starting with a sit-down strike at the Sud Aviation plant near the city of Nantes on 14 May, then another at a Renault parts plant near Rouen, which spreads to the Renault manufacturing complexes at Flins and Boulogne-Billancourt. By May 16, some fifty factories have been occupied and 200,000 workers are on strike. By May 19, two million workers are on strike; by the following week, it is ten million, roughly two-thirds of the entire French workforce.
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May 14 - 15, 1970
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Police at Jackson State College in Mississippi open fire on a crowd of students protesting against the Vietnam War. They fire at the crowd for half a minute, firing at least 140 shots. Two students are killed; twelve wounded. Afterwards, the police claim they saw a sniper, but an FBI investigation and a commission of inquiry both find no evidence of a sniper. The Commission concludes that the police action was “unreasonable” and “unjustified” but none of the police are charged.
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