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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April 23, 1343
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St. George’s Night Uprising. The indigenous population of Estonia rebels against the German and Danish rulers and landlords who conquered Estonia in the thirteenth century, took over the land, and imposed the Christian religion. The rebellion meets with initial successes, but is eventually defeated by an invasion force of Teutonic knights.
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April 23, 1902
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Birth of Halldor Laxness (1902-1998) Icelandic novelist and socialist. Winner of the 1955 Nobel Prize for Literature for his books, short stories, plays and poetry, largely concerned with the lives of ordinary people. Blacklisted by the United States government for his left-wing politics and his criticism of the U.S. occupation of Iceland in World War II.
Quote: “... the moral principles [my grandmother] instilled in me: never to harm a living creature; throughout my life, to place the poor, the humble, the meek of this world above all others; never to forget those who were slighted or neglected or who had suffered injustice, because it was they who, above all others, deserved our love and respect...”
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April 23, 1968
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Students at Columbia University in New York protest against the proposed construction of a gymnasium which would take over a public park and have separate entrances for students and for black residents of Harlem. The demonstration ends in a takeover of university buildings. Police storm the buildings on April 30 and violently evict the occupiers, but protests, and police violence directed against them, continue throughout the spring.
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