Today in Labor History July 29, 2026

 Cesar Chavez, asked Americans to boycott the popular California fruit

The Coast Seamen’s Union merges with the Steamship Sailor’s Union to form the Sailors’ Union of the Pacific. – 1891

A preliminary delegation from Mother Jones’ March of the Mill Children from Philadelphia to President Theodore Roosevelt’s summer home in Oyster Bay, Long Island, publicizing the harsh conditions of child labor, arrives today. They are not allowed through the gates. – 1903

Following a five-year table grape boycott, Delano-area growers file into the United Farm Workers union hall in Delano, California to sign their first union contracts. The strike began on September 8, 1965. Due largely to a consumer boycott of nonunion grapes, the strike ended with a significant victory for the United Farm Workers as well as its first contract with growers. – 1970

Important Events From This day in History July 29

 

 

1981 UK Charles and Diana Marriage

1981 : Prince Charles marries Lady Diana at a royal ceremony at St. Paul's Cathedral, it is estimated 500 million television viewers in 74 countries tune in to witness the fairy tale marriage.

1932 U.S.A. Bonus Protesters

1932 : World War I Vets who are starving like many others due to the great depression march on Washington demanding that the bonus payment they are due to receive in 1945 is paid out early. Legislators refuse their requests so 20,000 vets set up camp in Washington trying to put further pressure on the government. President Herbert Hoover ordered the eviction and two veterans were killed, he then called on the army to disperse the remaining Bonus protesters and the Bonus Army headed home on July 29, 1932.

1945 USS Indianapolis Sinking

1945 : I-58 Japanese submarine sinks the American cruiser Indianapolis, killing 883 seamen in the worst loss in the history of the U.S. navy. More than 800 fell into the Pacific many died due to injuries during the sinking but the remaining seamen were left to flounder in the Pacific, fend off sharks, drink sea water it was 84 hours before help arrived and only 318 survived the rest were eaten by sharks or drowned. The USS Indianapolis had just delivered key components of the Hiroshima atomic bomb to the Pacific island of Tinian prior to it's sinking by the submarine.

1953 Germany Hohenzollern Jewels

1953 : Thieves have stolen the Hohenzollern Jewels valued at over $7.5 million by climbing the walls of ancient Hohenzollern castle , these are better known as the Prussian Crown Jewels.

1958 U.S.A. NASA Created

1958 : NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) is created by the National Aeronautics and Space Act to make sure America will win the space race and 11 years and billions of dollars later, Neil Armstrong stepped out of the lunar module Eagle and onto the moon's surface on July 20th, 1969.

1968 Vatican Pope Paul VI

1968 : Pope Paul VI banned the contraceptive pill as well as all other artificial means of birth control.

1976 U.S.A. Son of Sam

1976 : The so called "Son of Sam" pulls a gun from a paper bag and fires five shots at Donna Lauria and Jody Valenti of the Bronx while they are sitting in a car. Lauria died and Valenti was seriously wounded in the first in a series of shootings by the serial killer, who terrorized New York City over the course of the next year.

1976 Southend Pier Destroyed By Fire

1976 : The end of Southend Pier on Britain's south coast is destroyed by Fire, the pier was the longest pier in the world at close to 1 1/2 miles long. The original pier made of wood dates back to 1830 and in the 1880's the pier was rebuilt of iron.

1999 U.S.A. Woodstock 99

1999 : New York State Police have suspended an officer who posed with half naked women at Woodstock 99 while colleagues were quelling a riot at the festival, the officer is also facing criminal charges.

1999 U.S.A. Day Trader Goes On Killing Spree

1999 : Day Trader (Mark O. Barton) opens fire at the All-Tech Investment Group Inc Atlanta brokerage office, killing nine and wounding 13 others before shooting himself to death, he had earlier killed his wife and two children. It is thought he went on the killing spree after losing over $100,000 while day trading between June 9th and July 27th.

2006 Sudan Peace Agreement Broken

2006 : After signing a peace agreement on May 5 of 2006, the Sudanese government violated the agreement when they attacked the rebel group the Justice and Equality Movement, a group not involved in the peace deal, in the Jebel Moon mountains. The peace agreement between Sudanese government and the Minni Minnawi faction was used by both parties as a way to attack rebel groups who were not a part of the agreement.

2006 U.S.A. California Heat Wave

2006 : The Heat Wave in California which started on July 16th. and has reached temperatures of 115 degrees earlier in the week is now believed to have claimed the lives of over 140 people, and caused a massive toll to the state's agricultural industry with damage to peaches, plums, nectarines and walnuts and thousands of livestock lost. An additional burden to California residents has been the loss of power to over a million customers caused through equipment failures.

2007 Iraq Wins Asian Cup

2007 : Despite being a country torn apart by invasion and internal fighting, the Iraqi football team was able to win the Asian Cup against Saudi Arabia on this day. The game, played in Indonesia, ended with a 1-0 score. The victory was able to bring some temporary joy to the country which had been plagued with a surge of violence at the time.

2008 U.S.A. Ronald Gray

2008 : Former United States President and Commander in Chief, George W. Bush approved the first execution of an American soldier in over fifty years on this day. Ronald Gray a serial killer who was found guilty of the rape and murder of 4 victims, a member of the armed forces in the states of North Carolina was convicted of rape and murder in 1988 and sentenced to death. On November 26th, 2008, a federal judge granted Gray a stay of execution to allow time for further appeals which is still proceeding.

2009 India Gayatri Devi

2009 : Gayatri Devi, one of the last queens in India, died on this day. The ninety year old played an important role in politics and fashion in India and was once voted one of the most beautiful women in the world according to Vogue magazine.

2011 Car Makers Agree to Fuel Efficiency Standard

2011 : Major car makers agreed to a the new fuel efficiency standard proposed by the Obama administration. The new standard that was agreed upon would raise the average miles per gallon to 54.5 by 2025. The move was hoped to reduce reliance on foreign oil imports as well as reduce air pollution.

2012 Snoop Dogg Banned from Norway

2012 : US Rapper Snoop Dogg has been banned from Norway for two years after he was caught trying to bring a small amount of marijuana into the country in June. His lawyer stated that he would live with the ban and had no plans to appeal.

2013 China Orders Debt Audit

2013 : The Chinese government has ordered a nationwide audit of all government debt. The move comes after a concern that debt has slowed the economic growth in the country after government borrowing was used to sustain growth amid the global financial crisis.

Tuesday Morning in the Blogosphere

 

Should journalists give up on traditional job paths? - Poynter

The Associated Press publishes the 58th edition of its AP Stylebook - E&P Magazine

Local group buying Chattanooga Times Free Press from Arkansas owners - Chattanoogan

NewsMedia Association to assume programs of dissolving Wisconsin Papers - NewsMedia

Vermont becomes first to sign executive order prioritizing local news - Rebuild Local News

Today in Labor History July 28, 2026

 

Troops, burned down a shantytown occupied by unemployed veterans

Women shoemakers in Lynn, Massachusetts created the Daughters of St. Crispin, the first national women’s labor union in the U.S. The union began with a strike of over a thousand female workers in 1860. By the end of 1869, it had a total of 24 local lodges across the U.S., the largest of which had over 400 members. Conventions of all the lodges were held annually in Massachusetts until 1872. The Name “Daughters of St. Crispin” was inspired by the contemporary men’s union of shoemakers, the order of the Knights of St. Crispin. Saint Crispin is the patron saint of cobblers, tanners, and leather workers. In 1870, a convention of the Daughters of St. Crispin unanimously adopted a resolution which demanded equal pay for doing the same work as men. – 1860

Harry Bridges was born in Australia. He came to America at age 19 and became a leader of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA). In 1937 he led several chapters in forming a new union, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), expanding membership to warehouse workers. He led the ILWU for the next 40 years. – 1901

A strike by Paterson, New Jersey silk workers for an eight-hour day and improved working conditions ended after six months, with the workers’ demands unmet. During the course of the strike, approximately 1,800 strikers were arrested, including Wobblie leaders Big Bill Haywood and Elizabeth Gurley Flynn. – 1913

General Douglas MacArthur, Major Dwight D. Eisenhower and their troops, burned down a shantytown occupied by unemployed veterans near the U.S. Capitol. 20,000 ex-servicemen had been camped out in the capital demanding a veterans’ bonus the government had promised but never given. Cavalry troops and tanks fired tear gas at veterans and their families and then set the buildings on fire. MacArthur and President Herbert Hoover said they had saved the nation from revolution. – 1932

Nine miners were rescued in Sommerset, Pennsylvania. after being trapped for 77 hours, 240 feet underground in the flooded Quecreek Mine. – 2002

Important Events From This day in History July 28

 

 

1932 "Bonus Army" World War I

1932 : Federal troops under the order of President Hoover forcibly dispersed the "Bonus Army" of (17,000 World War I veterans) who had gathered in Washington, D.C. on June 17th to demand money they weren't scheduled to receive until 1945. The troops under the command of General Douglas MacArthur and Major George S. Patton are ordered to charge into the veterans and were sent to destroy the temporary shacks in the Bonus Army's camps in Hooverville on the Anacostia Flats forcing the marchers out. By the end of the day hundreds of veterans were injured, and several were killed. The World War I Vets like every body else in the country were suffering with no jobs and money during these early years of the great depression and wanted the Service Certificates they had earned while fighting in World War I paid out early. More about the Bonus Army Protest

1914 World War I Begins

1914 : Following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, by Gavrilo Princip, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, within one month countries across Europe had formed alliances and declared war on other alliances. The main alliances in the early period of the war were: Entente Powers or the Allied Powers: consisted of British Empire, France, Russian Empire, Italy, United States. Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria.

1920 Mexico Francisco Villa Surrenders

1920 : Francisco Villa the notorious bandit has surrendered unconditionally to the provisional government of Mexico.

1931 U.S.A. Monoplane Race

1931 : A race between two powerful monoplanes got under way today starting from New York, the race is to Istanbul over 5,500 miles away. They are also hoping to break the current long distance record of 4,912 miles non stop.

1945 Plane Crashes Into Empire State Building

1945 : A B-25 Mitchell bomber crashes into the into the 79th story of the Empire State Building killing 14 people. The freak accident was caused by heavy fog.

1956 U.S.A. Elvis Presley

1956 : Elvis Presley scores his second No. 1 hit with "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You" following his April number 1 "Heartbreak Hotel."

1965 50,000 Extra Troops To Vietnam

1965 : President Johnson informed fellow Americans that he is adding 50,000 troops to the U.S. forces currently in Vietnam, for a total of 125,000 soldiers.

1972 UK Dock Strike Begins

1972 : 42,000 registered dock workers begin a national strike over container companies using cheap labor and concerns over compulsory redundancies. After one week the government under Edward Heath proclaimed a state of emergency which allowed the use of the British Army to unload cargo.

1976 China Earthquake Kills 1/4 Million

1976 : An earthquake measuring between 7.8 and 8.2 magnitude on the Richter scale flattens Tangshan, a Chinese industrial city with a population of about one million people. The quake killed an estimated 242,000 people in Tangshan and surrounding areas making the earthquake one of the deadliest in recorded history.

1978 Lebanon Syrian Attacks

1978 : The United States, Canada and Great Britain have advised nationals to leave Lebanon as quickly as possible due to increased Syrian attacks on Lebanon Christians and are leaving only a skeleton staff in their Embassy.

1978 Gold Reaches $200.00 Per Ounce

1978 : The Price of gold has reached an all time high on the Bullion Market of $200.00 per ounce , investors usually invest in gold during monetary instability and the steady decline in the value of the dollar has sent many US investors into the gold market.

1982 Israel Attack West Beirut

1982 : Israel Bombers and fighters are blasting large area's of West Beirut attacking any area or building they believe may house PLO Palestinian Liberation Army Guerillas. After nightfall the PLO Guerillas returned fire on Israeli positions using rockets and mortar fire.

1999 U.S.A. Y2K Compliance

1999 : Federal Regulators from the SEC have given until August 1 for Brokerage firms to prove compliance with Y2K or a court order will be obtained to close them down on December 31st.

2004 U.S.A. John Kerry

2004 : The Democratic National Convention in Boston Nominated John Kerry Democratic Nominee For President.

2005 IRA Announces End Of Armed Struggle

2005 : The IRA has formally ordered an end to its armed campaign and has announced the republican organisation will follow a democratic path ending more than 30 years of violence. The announcement is received on all sides as an important way forward following the Good Friday Agreement signed in 1997.

2006 Haiti Former Prime Minister Yvon Neptune Released

2006 : Yvon Neptune was released from prison in Haiti on this day. Neptune was a former Prime Minister of Haiti and was held in prison for two years without ever being convicted of a crime. Neptune had denied the charges he was held on. He had been charged in connection to the killings of opposition to the ex-president of Haiti, Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

2008 Iraq Suicide Bombers

2008 : On this day three suicide bombings took place in Baghdad, Iraq, killing 28 people and injuring 90 people. The suicide attacks were carried out by female bombers and were aimed at disrupting a Shia Muslim pilgrimage to the Kadhimiya shrine.

2009 Tanzania Banking For Women

2009 : A bank opened in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania that was aimed at helping women with their savings. The bank, the first of its kind in Tanzania, made it easier for women to open accounts and encouraged the empowerment of women in the country.

2011 Bangladesh Bus Crash Kills Seventeen

2011 : At least seventeen people died and another twenty people were injured when a passenger bus crashed into a truck in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Survivors of the accident blamed the bus driver for the crash, stating that he was driving recklessly at high speeds.

2012 First Gold of the London 2012 Games Won

2012 : China's Yi Siling won the first gold of the London Olympic games in the women's 10m Air Rifle competition. Sylwia Bogacka won the silver medal while China's Yu Dan won the bronze.

2013 Brazil Pope Francis Holds Mass on Beach

2013 : Pope Francis held mass for over three million people who had gathered to hear him on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Pope Francis had been there on a five day trip to Brazil to visit a Catholic youth festival on his first foreign trip since he became the pope.

Jerry Holden Rest in Peace

Just learned former Los Angeles Times Supervisor Jerry Holden passed away. Unfortunately I currently have no further details.

Monday Morning in the Blogosphere

 

A hyperlocal news page falls victim to Facebook’s AI - Poynter

How public media is adapting after federal funding cuts - E&P Magazine

Can New Jersey’s civic-information model help rebuild local news? - E&P Reports

AP updates newsroom standards for artificial intelligence - AP Corporate Communications

News/Media Alliance applauds AI bot transparency bill introduction - News/Media Alliance

Today in Labor History July 27, 2026

 

Mary Harris “Mother” Jones with children and adults beginning their “Children’s Crusade”

William Sylvis (1828-1869), founder of the Iron Molders’ International Union and head of the Nation Labor Union, the first such organization in US history, died on this date. – 1869

Mother Jones gave her famous “The Wail of the Children” speech during the “March of the Mill Children.” The march began on July 7 in Philadelphia and ended at Teddy Roosevelt’s summer home in Oyster Bay, Long Island. They were demanding a 55 hour work week for children. – 1903

“After a long and weary march, with more miles to travel, we are on our way to see President Roosevelt at Oyster Bay. We will ask him to recommend the passage of a bill by congress to protect children against the greed of the manufacturer. We want him to hear the wail of the children, who never have a chance to go to school, but work from ten to eleven hours a day in the textile mills of Philadelphia, weaving the carpets that he and you walk on, and the curtains and clothes of the people.

Fifty years ago there was a cry against slavery and the men of the North gave up their lives to stop the selling of black children on the block. To-day the white child is sold for $2 a week, and even by his parents to the manufacturers.

Fifty years ago the black babies were sold C. O. D. To-day the white baby is sold to the manufacturer on the installment plan. He might die at his tasks and the manufacturer with the automobile and the yacht and the daughter who talks French to a poodle dog, as you can see any day at Twenty-third Street and Broadway when they roll by, could not afford to pay $2 a week for the child that might die, except on the present installment plan. What the President can do is to recommend a measure and send a message to Congress which will break the chains of the white children slaves.

He endorsed a bill for the expenditure of $45,000 to fill the stomach of a Prince who went gallivanting about the country. We will ask in the name of the aching hearts of these little ones that they be emancipated. I will tell the President that I saw men in Madison Square last night sleeping on the benches, and that the country can have no greatness while one unfortunate lies out at night without a bed to sleep on. I will tell him that the prosperity he boasts of is the prosperity of the rich wrung from the poor.

In Georgia where children work day and night in the cotton mills, they have just passed a bill to protect song birds. What about the little children from whom all song is gone?

The trouble is that the fellers in Washington don’t care. I saw them last winter pass three railroad bills in one hour, but when labor cries for aid for the little ones they turn their backs and will not listen to her. I asked a man in prison once how he happened to get there. He had stolen a pair of shoes. I told him that if he had stolen a railroad he could be a United States Senator. One hour of justice is worth an age of praying.

You are told that every American born male citizen has a chance of being President. I tell you that the hungry man without a bed in the park would sell his chance for a good square meal, and these little toilers, deformed, dwarfed in body, soul, and morality, with nothing but toil before them and no chance for schooling, don’t even have the dream that they might someday have a chance at the Presidential chair.

You see those monkeys in the cages. They are trying to teach them to talk. The monkeys are too wise, for they fear that then the manufacturers might buy them for slaves in their factories. In 1800 the workingmen had the advantage in percentage of the country’s wealth. To-day statistics at Washington show that with billions of wealth, the wage earners’ share is but 10 per cent. We are going to tell the President of these things. Tomorrow we meet in Madison Square and Thursday we start for Oyster Bay.”

United Mine Workers organizer Ginger Goodwin died. Goodwin was a migrant coal miner who found work in the Cumberland mines, arriving on Vancouver Island in late 1910. Goodwin was unhappy with the working conditions and management’s disregard of labor. Wanting change, Goodwin became an advocate for workers’ rights, organizing and promoting trade unions. Goodwin increased in stature to become a highly prominent leader in the labor movement but died suddenly under controversial circumstances that have not been settled to this day. It is widely believed that Goodwin was murdered in an attempt to stifle collective bargaining. His death inspired the 1918 Vancouver general strike on August 2, 1918, Canada’s first General Strike. – 1918

Important Events From This day in History July 27

 

 

1949 De-Havilland Comet First Flight

1949 : The 500-mile-an-hour jet engine De-Havilland Comet designed as a commercial jet airliner flew for the first time with a test pilot at the controls.

1909 U.S.A. Orville Wright

1909 : The world's airplane record for two men, was broken in a flight of one hour, twelve minutes and forty seconds over fifty miles and at a speed averaging about forty miles an hour by Orville Wright and Lieutenant Frank P. Lahm, of the army signal corps, as passenger.

1921 Canada Housing Shortage

1921 : Landlords in the city of Toronto are now charging prospective tenants $2.00 to view apartments in the city , this is in part due to the lack of accommodation available in the city.

1953 Korea Armistice

1953 : An Armistice has been signed between Korea and Generals of the United Nations this is not a peace deal but a truce to end 37 months of fighting.

1974 Impeachment Charges Against Nixon

1974 : The House of Representatives charges President Richard M. Nixon with the first of three articles of impeachment for obstruction of justice.

1986 Tough New Anti Smoking Laws

1986 : A bill is to introduced to ban smoking on all public transport including trains, planes, buses and coaches with large fines up to $500 for those who break the law.

1996 U.S.A. Nail Bomb Olympics

1996 : In Atlanta, Georgia, a nail-laden pipe bomb is exploded in Centennial Olympic Park during the XXVI Summer Olympiad leaving 2 dead and many more injured.

2000 Fiji George Speight

2000 : The Rebel coup leader George Speight who led the coup to overthrow Fiji's democratically elected government in May by taking Fiji's Indian Prime Minister, Mahendra Chaudhry, and members of his multi-racial government hostage for 8 weeks has been arrested and will possibly face treason charges. He was found guilty of treason and is currently serving a term of life imprisonment for his role in the overthrow of the constitutional government.

2002 Ukraine Fighter Jet Crash Kills 85

2002 : A fighter jet crashes into a crowd of spectators during an air show in Ukraine killing 85 people and injuring hundreds more.

2006 World Trade Organization Talks Break Down

2006 : The (WTO) World Trade Talks which had been started in 2001 break down with blame shared equally around the world. The United States blamed because it saw no point in continuing the talks if developing countries would not open markets to US Companies. European Union blamed for protectionism and of using deliberate delaying tactics during the talks. The Developing Nations because they want state subsidies and import tariffs slashed in the EU and US so they can sell more of their produce abroad. What this means in reality is that the G8 nations will now turn to bilateral and regional free trade agreements, abandoning commitment to help developing nations increase their share of the global market.

2007 Mexico Drug Money

2007 : After a ninety day period, the unclaimed money that was seized from an alleged Mexican-Chinese drug trafficker, Zhenli Ye Gon’s home became the state’s property. Once in legal possession of the large sum of money, $205 million, Mexican officials would use the money to fund drug treatment programs, police equipment, and drug prosecution efforts. Zhenli Ye Gon was arrested in the United States the same week the announcement came from the Mexican government.

2007 India Nuclear Pact

2007 : A nuclear pact between the United States and India is officially confirmed on this day. This is the first of such agreements in thirty years due to sanctioning from the United States.

2008 China / Taiwan Relations Improve

2008 : The Olympic Village in Beijing opened on this day, twelve days before the start of the 2008 Summer Olympics. The Olympic Village housed 16,000 athletes during the games.

2009 China / Taiwan Relations Improve

2009 : China’s president, Hu Jintao congratulated President Ma Yong-jeou of Taiwan after his win of the presidential election. This exchange marked the first time leaders of the two countries directly communicated in over sixty years. The exchange marked a positive step towards better relations between the two nations after the 1949 civil war separated Taiwan from China.

2011 Hollywood Producer Dies

2011 : Polly Platt, a long time Hollywood producer, died at the age of seventy-two of a moto neuron disease. Platt was nominated for an Academy Award for art direction in the film Terms of Endearment. Platt had also worked on such films as What's Up Doc?, Paper Moon, and The Last Picture Show.

2012 London Olympics Officially Open

2012 : The 2012 London Olympics were officially opened during the opening ceremony by Queen Elizabeth II. The opening ceremony featured many musical and theatrical performances meant to represent British culture and the Olympic spirit. At the end, possible future athletes were given the honor of lighting the ceremonial flame.

2013 State Funeral for Murdered Opposition Leader

2013 : A state funeral was held for the Tunisian opposition leader Mohamed Brahmi who had been killed by gunmen in an assassination earlier that week. There were protests following Brahmi's death. Another opposition leader, Chokri Belaid, had been killed earlier in the year and it was said the Brahmi was shot with the same gun.

How A Hillside Strangler Nearly Went Free

 

My grandchildren wonder what this strange object could be?

 

The Big Bias in AI Is Economic - Second Rough Draft

How America’s newspapers lost their voice - The Conversation

Kid Scoop News aims to ‘awaken the magic of reading’ - E&P Magazine

Why community publishers must organize to lead their own future - The Pivot Fund

The best salespeople don’t convince — they influence with trust and authority - E&P Magazine

Today in Labor History July 23, 2026

 

Unrest in Detroit

Northern Michigan copper miners struck for the 8 hour day, higher wages and union recognition. The strike continued until April 12, 1914. During the strike, 600 were arrested for inciting a riot, 500 for violating an injunction against picketing, and the Western Federation of Miners ( WFM) president, Charles Moyer, was shot, beaten and forced out of town. Also, on Christmas Eve, 1913, the women’s auxiliary of the WFM organized a party for miners and their families during which someone shouted “fire” causing a stampede that killed 73, mostly children. The identity of the crier was never determined, but many believe it was a member of the Citizen’s Alliance, a group used by the mine owners to attack strikers and crush their movement. The strike ended with the union being effectively driven out of the Keweenaw Peninsula. – 1913

Seven days of social unrest, including fighting with cops, anti-business and anti-government actions began in Detroit. By the end of the riots, 43 were dead, 2,000 wounded and 5,000 made homeless. It was the largest riot of the century, sparking additional riots throughout U.S. – 1967

Aluminum Workers International Union merged with The United Brick & Clay Workers of America to form Aluminum, Brick & Clay Workers. – 1981

Important Events From This day in History July 23

 

  

1976 First Cases Legionnaires Disease

1976 : 4,000 delegates from the Pennsylvania chapter of the American Legion met at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia for a four-day gathering. Several days after the event ended, many attendees became sick. By August 2, 22 people were dead and hundreds connected to the gathering were experiencing pneumonia-like symptoms. The cause was traced back to an aquatic microorganism bacteria at the hotel and the disease was later called Legionnaires disease.

1931 US Communist Crack Down

1931 : With the growing public discontent at high unemployment and the Government's failure to do anything a growing movement led by communist infiltrators to the US has meant the government is cracking down on communist activities including propaganda that is distributed to Negroes telling them to take control of the government and companies , Federal Agents have seized a large am mount of literature and is deporting the infiltrators back to Havana where most have come from.

1941 France Douglas Bader

1941 : Douglas Bader the British RAF fighter pilot who had lost his legs in a flying accident, was shot down over France and captured by the Germans. During his time as a POW, Douglas Bader made as much trouble as possible and escaped in August 1942, on his recapture by the Germans he was sent to Colditz Castle which provided a more secure prison. Before he was shot down he had claimed 22 German aircraft shot down which was the fifth highest total in the RAF. In 1956 the movie “Reach for the Sky” was based on The Story of Douglas Bader, Hero of the Battle of Britain.”

1945 Vichy Leader Treason Trial

1945 : Marshal Henri Petain, who had headed the Vichy government during World War II and had signed as head of state an armistice with Germany that gave Nazi Germany control over the north and west of the country, this left part of the country not under Nazi control including the resort town of Vichy which is where the administrative center was (hence the name Vichy Government). Marshal Henri Petain is put on trial for treason.

1952 Egypt Military Coup d'etat

1952 : A military coup d'etat in Egypt headed by Colonel Gamal Abdal Nasser's Society of Free Officers seizes control of the government. Following the revolution King Farouk I of Egypt abdicates. The revolutionaries redistributed land, tried politicians for corruption, and in 1953 abolished the monarchy. In 1954, Nasser emerged from behind the scenes, removed Naguib from power, and proclaimed himself prime minister of Egypt.

1957 Great Britain Bus Workers Strike

1957 : Bus drivers throughout Britain have now been on strike for the 5th day causing major disruption to commuters around the country and in some area's due to the frustration of the travelling public leading to violence.

1964 U.S.A. War On Poverty

1964 : President Lyndon B. Johnson began pushing for a War on Poverty requesting $962,000 from Congress for improving literacy, drug rehabilitation and employment programs.

1967 U.S.A. Detroit Riots

1967 : One of the worst riots in U.S. history breaks out in the heart of Detroit's predominantly African American inner city. By the time it was ended four days later on July 27th by 7,000 National Guard and U.S. Army troops, 43 people were dead, 342 injured, and nearly 1,400 buildings had been burned.

1974 Greece Constantine Karamanlis

1974 : Following a military coup seizing power in Greece in April 1967 Constantine Karamanlis had been in self imposed exile in France . On this day the military leadership has invited him back to form a new government hoping his popularity with both the Greek people and Turkish leadership will avert an all out war over Cyprus. Turkish forces invaded Cyprus 2 days earlier.

1975 U.S.A. Inflation at 9%

1975 : The Nations Consumer Price Index has been published today which shows that the yearly inflation is currently running at 9% , but in some areas such as the cost of food running at close to 1.5% per month and gas at whopping 3% with premium Gas prices reaching 60 cents per gallon.

1984 U.S.A. Vanessa Williams

1984 : Vanessa Williams, the first black Miss America, gave up her crown after sexually explicit photos of her appeared in the September issue of Penthouse magazine.

1984 Sellafield Nuclear Power Plant

1984 : A new government report confirms an increased incidence of Leukemia clusters in and around the Sellafield Nuclear Power Plant in Cumbria. The report led by Sir Douglas Black has confirmed the clusters but says to little research has been done to confirm they are related to the Nuclear Power Plant. A number of reports in later years did link the increase of Leukemia in the area to Sellafield but BNFL (British Nuclear Fuels) and the government continue to say that there is no evidence to support a link between Leukemia and nuclear power plants.

1986 UK Prince Andrew Marries

1986 : Prince Andrew married English commoner Sarah Ferguson at Westminster Abbey which has recently celebrated it's 900 year old birthday in London.

1995 BP Agrees To Pay Back Taxes

1995 : In Alaska BP America has agreed to pay an additional $20 million in Back taxes to the state of Alaska , this is on top of an earlier settlement to the state in 1993 of $650 million.

2000 U.S.A. Tiger Woods

2000 : Tiger Woods today became the youngest player to win a career Grand Slam after winning the British Open at St. Andrews.

2003 Claims of Abuse By Clergy in Mass

2003 : The Massachusetts attorney general report claims clergy members and others in the Boston Archdiocese possibly sexually abused more than 1,000 children over sixty years.

2005 Egypt Terrorist Attack Sharm al-Sheikh

2005 : A number of bombs have been exploded in the Egyptian resort of Sharm al-Sheikh by Terrorist attacks. The latest figures indicate nearly 100 are dead including tourists staying at a Hotel that was targeted, and many more injured.

2006 Germany Doctors Strike

2006 : Doctors in Germany continued rolling strikes with demands for better working conditions and higher wages. This strike affected up to 700 hospitals in Germany for over a month. Nearly 70,000 doctors alternated protests while still providing basic emergency care for patients in the country.

2007 Spain Bank Robber Caught

2007 : The most wanted criminal in Spain was caught on this day. The man was accused of armed robbery of more than thirty banks in Spain and killing at least three police officers. He was arrested in Figueira da Foz, Portugal while planning another bank robbery.

2007 U.S.A. United States Veterans

2007 : A coalition of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans sues the United States government on claims that they have been denied mental health care and disability payments. The group claimed that the Department of Veteran Affairs would purposely mislabel soldiers experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder so the government would not have to pay for treatment.

2008 Japan Earthquake

2008 : An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.8 hit Japan on this day. The earthquake hit the main island of Honshu and caused landslides, power outages, fires, and injuries.

2009 Iceland Applies For EU Membership

2009 : The country of Iceland submitted its formal bid to join the European Union on this day. Iceland’s economic collapse in 2008 spurred Iceland’s leaders to finally move forward on joining the European Union, hoping that the organization would provide more economic security.

2011 Singer Amy Winehouse Found Dead

2011 : Eclectic singer Amy Winehouse was found dead in her London apartment. The cause of death was unknown but Winehouse had suffered from alcohol and drug addiction for years prior to her death. Fans paid tribute to her and gathered around her home, while friends and family grieved the loss of a talented singer with a unique voice.

2012 First US Woman in Space Dies

2012 : Sally Ride, the first woman from the United States who went into space, died at the age of sixty-one after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Ride made her first flight into space in 1983 in the Space Shuttle Challenger.

2013 Burma Political Prisoners Released

2013 : Seventy-three political prisoners were freed by the Burmese government in an attempt by President Thein Sein to release all political dissidents by the end of the year. Burma has been working towards democracy since 2010 and began releasing prisoners three years ago.

Today in Labor History July 22, 2026

 Preparedness Day bombing

A General Strike occurred in St. Louis, as part of the national Great Strike. The St. Louis strike is generally considered the first General Strike in U.S. history. It was organized by the radical Knights of Labor and the Workingman’s Party. In addition to joining in solidarity with striking rail workers, thousands in other trades came out to fight for the 8-hour day and an end to child labor. 3,000 federal troops and 5,000 deputized police (vigilantes?) ended the strike by killing at least 18 people and arresting at least 70. – 1877

Newly unionized brewery workers in San Francisco, mostly German socialists, declare victory after the city’s breweries give in to their demands for free beer, the closed shop, freedom to live anywhere (they had typically been required to live in the breweries), a 10-hour day, a six-day workweek, and a board of arbitration. – 1886

Alexander Berkman tried to assassinate Henry Clay Frick who was responsible for the deaths of nine miners killed by Pinkerton thugs on July 6, during the Homestead Strike. – 1892

A bomb was set off during a pro-war “Preparedness Day” parade in San Francisco. The city was holding a parade in honor of Preparedness day, in anticipation of the United States’ imminent entry into World War 1. During the parade, a suitcase bomb was detonated, killing ten and wounding 40 in the worst such attack in San Francisco’s history. Two labor leaders, Thomas Mooney and Warren K. Billing, were convicted in separate trials and sentenced to death, later commuted to life in prison. Further investigations found the trials to have been marred by false testimony, and the men were released in 1939 and eventually pardoned. The identity of the bombers has never been determined. – 1916

Important Events From This day in History July 22

 

  

1991 U.S.A. Jeffrey Dahmer

1991 : Jeffrey Dahmer is caught and is considered one of the most sadistic serial killers in our time when Dahmer's apartment was searched, the extent of his horrors was revealed, it contained pictures of body parts and the apartment was littered with human remains including human heads in the refrigerator and freezer, there was also evidence to suggest that he had been practicing cannibalism with his victims bodies, he later confessed to 17 murders in all.

1933 U.S.A. Wiley Post

1933 : Wiley Hardeman Post (Wiley Post) becomes the first man to fly solo around the world in his plywood monocoque aircraft, the Winnie Mae. He took 7 days, 19 hours -- 21 hours less than his previous record which he had set in 1931 with a navigator, Harold Gatty. Instead of a navigator he had installed an auto pilot device and a radio compass which were still in development, but which allowed him to make his solo journey.

1934 U.S.A. John Dillinger Shot

1934 : John Dillinger Public Enemy number ONE career was finally ended during a shoot out with FBI agents who had been waiting outside a local Cinema following a tip off.

More about John Dillinger

1937 U.S.A. Supreme Court

1937 : President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed to add five new justices to the Supreme Court, this was because the Supreme Court were overturning many of his programs and he believed if he placed an additional 5 new justices chosen by him he would get his legislation through. Much to his dismay the Senate turned down his proposal.

1942 Poland Warsaw Ghetto

1942 : Himmler ordered Rudolph Hoess an SS major to clean up the Warsaw ghetto, the Jewish quarter enclosed by barbed wire and brick walls which was to be depopulated and the inhabitants transported to Treblinka. Rudolph Hoess started the systematic deportation of Jews from the Warsaw ghetto on July 22nd with thousands rounded up daily and transported to the newly constructed concentration camp at Treblinka, in Poland. In just seven weeks of Himmler's order, more than 250,000 Jews were taken to Treblinka by rail and gassed to death.

1950 Save The Buffalo Bison Campaign

1950 : The American Buffalo / Bison which roamed the plains and numbered over 50 million are now down to a mere 4000 animals and concerns over extinction means more work and money is to be spent to save this important part of the American Heritage. It is estimated that there are now only four free roaming and genetically pure herds of American Bison / Buffalo on public lands in North America: Yellowstone National Park (4,000 Bison), Henry Mountains in Utah (500 Bison), Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota (1,500 Bison), Elk Island in Alberta, Canada (500 Bison).

1964 Japan Tokyo Olympics

1964 : Plans are being put in place to show live feed from the Tokyo Olympic games to Television viewers in Canada and the United States using a new Comstat Satellite Syncom III which will be launched in August and hold a stationary or hovering orbit position above the Pacific Ocean. The Olympic Games will be shown to television viewers in October.

1975 U.S.A. Personal Bankruptcy On The Increase

1975 : A growing number of people are filing for personal bankruptcy which is more than ever before, the reasons can be traced through to any number including: Inflation, Pay rises not matching expectations, Increased use of Credit Cards, Shop-A-Holics, Gas Price Increases.

1987 Soviet Union Nuclear Missile Ban

1987 : Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev indicates that he is willing to negotiate a ban on intermediate-range nuclear missiles without conditions paving the way for the groundbreaking Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with the United States.

1992 Colombia Pablo Escobar

1992 : Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar escaped from his own luxurious private prison, La Catedral. near Medellin. At one time Escabar had been listed as the seventh-richest man in the world on Forbes Magazine. The United States Delta Force joined Colombian Police and a self proclaimed vigilante group in the all-out manhunt for Escobar and in December 1993 he was found and died in a shoot out.

2002 Israeli Bomb Kills 15 People

2002 : An Israeli F-16 has dropped a one-tonne guided bomb on an apartment block in Gaza City killing 15 including innocent children in an attack designed to kill Sheikh Salah Shahada a leading member of the militant group Hamas.

2003 Iraq Saddam Hussein’s Sons Killed

2003 : Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s sons, Qusay and Uday Hussein, are killed after a three-hour firefight with U.S. forces in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.

2003 Memphis Summer Storm

2003 : A summer storm, dubbed the Memphis Summer Storm of 2003, strikes the region with 100 mph winds and rains. When it was over, four people were dead with several more dead and injured as a result of fires and other accidents that the storm caused. More than 300,000 area residents were also left without power.

2005 England Suspected Terrorist Shot 7 times

2005 : A suspected terrorist is shot dead by police at Stockwell underground station in south London. A few days later the man who police had killed was Jean Charles de Menezes a Brazillian Electrician who had nothing to do with terrorist activities. An apology was made by the British Prime Minister (Not Accepted by the family) and questions have been asked about the police's shoot-to-kill policy.

2008 U.S.A. Estelle Getty Dies

2008 : Estelle Getty, the comedian who played the popular role of Sophia Petrillo on the 1990s sitcom, Golden Girls, died on this day.

2009 Space Solar Eclipse

2009 : The longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century, (when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partially obscuring Earth's view of the Sun) lasting up to 6 minutes and 38.8 seconds, occurs off the coast of Southeast Asia. The total eclipse was seen for shorter time-spans in the Maldives, northern Pakistan, northern India, northern Bangladesh, Bhutan, northern Philippines, central China and the Pacific Ocean.

2011 Norway Hit By Bombing and Shooting Attacks

2011 : A large bomb blast hit Norway's capital Oslo killing at least eight people. Soon after the bombing, a gunman attacked an island youth camp run by the country's Labor Party and killed at least sixty-eight people. A thirty-two year old suspect was detained, Anders Behring Breivik, and admitted to committing both attacks.

2012 Bradley Wiggins Wins Tour de France

2012 : Thirty-two year old Bradley Wiggins won the Tour de France, making the first British man to win the famous bicycle race. He won by a margin of three minutes and twenty-one seconds and second place went to fellow Brit, Chris Froome.

2013 Duchess of Cambridge Gives Birth

2013 : The Duchess of Cambridge gave birth to a healthy baby boy, named Prince George of Cambridge. The baby is Prince William's son and will likely become the King of England one day in the future. The news was met with celebrations across England and the world as royal baby fans camped out waiting for news of the birth.

Today in Labor History July 21, 2026

 The Great Upheaval

30,000 Chicago workers rallied on Market Street during the Great Upheaval, a wave of strikes occurring throughout the country. Future anarchist and Haymarket martyr Albert Parsons spoke to the crowd, advocating the use of the ballot to obtain “state control of the means of production,” and urged workers to join the Workingmen’s Party. Parsons was later abducted by armed men who took him to the police where he was interrogated and informed that he had caused the city great trouble. Local militiamen were called out against striking railroad workers in Pittsburgh. The head of the Pennsylvania Railroad advised giving the strikers “a rifle diet for a few days and see how they like that kind of bread.” Instead, the militiamen joined the workers. Meanwhile, federal troops were sent to Baltimore, where they killed 10 strikers and wounded 25.  – 1877

A compressed air explosion killed 20 workers constructing a railroad tunnel under the Hudson River. – 1880

IWW led a strike at Hodgeman’s Blueberry Farm in Grand Junction, Mich. – 1964

Radio station WCFL, owned and operated by the Chicago Federation of Labor (hence the call sign),  took to the airwaves with two hours of music. The first and only labor-owned radio station in the country, WCFL was sold in 1979. – 1926

A die-cast operator in Jackson, Mich. was pinned by a hydraulic Unimate robot and died five days later. The incident is the first documented case in the U.S. of a robot killing a human. – 1984