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

January 9, 1831
Twenty-three workers in England are sentenced to death for destroying a paper-making machine that is being used to deprive them of work. In the next few days, more workers are convicted and sentenced by government commissions charged with crushing workers’ resistance to the machines that capitalists are using to increase their profits at their expense. Related Topics: Luddism – Sabotage – State Violence
January 9, 1908
Birth of Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986), French philosopher, feminist, political activist, and writer. Further Reading: Simone de Beauvoir: The Second Sex Interview with Simone de Beauvoir (1976) Related Topics: Feminism – Philosophy
January 9, 1959
Birth of Rigoberta Menchu, advocate for indigenous rights and human rights in Guatemala. Related Topics: Guatemala – Indigenous Peoples
January 9, 1964
Protests break out in the U.S.-controlled Panama Canal Zone. The trigger is a conflict over the right of the Panamanian flag to be flown alongside the American flag in the Panama Canal Zone. The underlying cause is Panamanian resentment over the US.-imposed treaty which gives the United States control of the Panama Canal Zone “in perpetuity.” The protests escalate into three days of fighting in which more than 20 Panamanians, and three U.S. soldiers, are killed. The events are a major reason for the subsequent U.S. decision to agree to transfer control of the Zone back to Panama. Related Topics: Panama – Panama Canal