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 28, 1830
Impoverished rural workers in southern and eastern England destroy threshing machines that are being used to take away their work and livelihoods. By the third week of October, over 100 threshing machines have been destroyed in East Kent in these “Swing Riots”. Related Topics: Luddism – Riots – Workers
August 28, 1844
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels meet at the Café de la Régence in Paris. Their friendship will last until Marx’s death in 1883 – and beyond. As their first joint project, they agree to work on The Holy Family, or Critique of Critical Criticism, which is completed in November 1844 and published in February 1845. Related Topics: Engels, Friedrich – Marx, Karl
August 28 - 30, 1891
American forces intervene in Chile to ‘protect American interests.’ Related Topics: Chile – Intervention – U.S. Imperialism
August 28, 1963
More than a quarter of a million people, most of them African-American, take part in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. It is at this rally that Martin Luther King Jr. gives his “I Have a Dream” speech. Related Topics: Demonstrations, Marches, Protests
August 28, 1971
The first public gay demonstration in Canada assembles on Parliament Hill demanding law reforms and changes in public policy relating to homosexuals. Related Topics: Demonstrations, Marches, Protests – Gay & Lesbian History – Gay & Lesbian Rights