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

August 20, 1904
Colorado miners seize control of the town of Cripple Creek and force officials to leave town. Related Topics: Strikes: United States
August 20, 1934
Birth of Fredy Perlman, writer and libertarian socialist. Further Reading: Fredy Perlman: An Appreciation Related Topics: Libertarian Socialism
August 20, 1940
An assassin sent by Stalin attacks exiled revolutionary Leon Trotsky, who is living in Mexico. Trotsky dies the next day from his wounds. Related Topics: Assassinations – Trotskyism
August 20, 1968
The Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies invade Czechoslovakia to put an end to the reforms of the ‘Prague Spring’. Related Topics: Czechoslovakia – Imperialism – Intervention – Soviet Union
August 20, 1998
US cruise missiles attack targets in Sudan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. In Khartoum, the El Shifa Pharmaceutical Industries factory, which produces anti-malaria and veterinary drugs, is deliberately targeted and destroyed, resulting in severe drug shortages and subsequent deaths from disease. Related Topics: Afghanistan – Bombing – Pakistan – Sudan – U.S. Imperialism