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

July 6, 1892
Striking steelworkers at Andrew Carnegie’s Homestead Steel Company engage in a fierce battle with a private army of thugs brought in by the Pinkerton Detective Agency to break the strike. Nine strikers and seven Pinkerton agents are killed; 11 strikers and 12 Pinkerton agents are wounded. The battle ends with the surrender of the Pinkerton thugs. Related Topics: Strikebreaking – Strikes: United States
July 6 - August 7, 1894
American forces intervade Nicaragua to ‘protect American interests.’ Related Topics: Intervention – Nicaragua – U.S. Imperialism
July 6, 1907
Birth of Frida Kahlo, Mexican artist and communist. Related Topics: Artists
July 6, 1919
The Institut fär Sexualwissenschaft is founded in Berlin by Magnus Hirschfeld. It continues its work until May 6, 1933, when the Institute and its libraries of thousands of books are destroyed by the Nazis. Related Topics: Gay & Lesbian History – Sexual Research
July 6, 1944
Irene Morgan, a 28-year-old black woman, is arrested in Virginia for refusing to give up her seat on an interstate bus to a white person. The driver stops the bus and summons the sheriff, who tries to arrest Morgan; she responds by kicking the sheriff in the balls. Morgan’s subsequent conviction for violating segregation laws (Jim Crow laws) is eventually overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, in a decision striking down state laws requiring segregation in interstate transportation. Related Topics: Anti-Discrimination – Anti-Racism – Bus Transportation – Direct Action – Equality Rights – Jim Crow – Racial Discrimination – Segregation
July 6, 1965
Hundreds of students in Berkeley, California, attempted to block trains carrying troops destined for Vietnam. Related Topics: Anti-War Movement – Vietnam War