History isn't made by kings or politicians, it's made by us: billions of ordinary people. https://patreon.com/workingclasshistoryhttps://bsky.app/profile/workingclasshistory.comhttps://bsky.app/profile/workingclasshistory.com/post/3mlnjhq45c22b#OtD 12 May 1797 the crew of the Sandwich ship anchored at Nore in the Thames estuary mutinied. They demanded better conditions and an end to the war with France, then began blockading London. Dozens were later hanged, jailed and transported https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8421/nore-mutiny12 May 2026 09:55 +0000at://did:plc:4zzmrr3g3mqtxptcot5ep72c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlnjhq45c22bhttps://bsky.app/profile/workingclasshistory.com/post/3mlmvvya3je2o📣 New Podcast! "12 May 1978: Saab Scania strike" on @Spreaker #anniversaries_history #autoworkers #brazil #cars #day #facts_weekly #history #history_historical #history_otd_on #history_weekly #in #lives #news_everyday #saab #stories_daily #this #workers https://www.spreaker.com/episode/12-may-1978-saab-scania-strike--7186907212 May 2026 04:05 +0000at://did:plc:4zzmrr3g3mqtxptcot5ep72c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlmvvya3je2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/workingclasshistory.com/post/3mlm3eoblf223#OtD 11 May 1923 150 mostly female rent strike prisoners in Veracruz, Mexico were freed after months of agitation. The tenants then marched through the main streets of the city, where they announced they would continue the strike https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8337/veracruz-tenant-prisoners-freed11 May 2026 20:10 +0000at://did:plc:4zzmrr3g3mqtxptcot5ep72c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlm3eoblf223https://bsky.app/profile/workingclasshistory.com/post/3mllosbu2ap2h#OtD 11 May 1968 French police began their assault on Paris's Latin Quarter which had been barricaded by student protesters. They managed to evict protesters, but anger at the violence caused protests to escalate. Artwork from the movement available here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/collections/may-6811 May 2026 16:25 +0000at://did:plc:4zzmrr3g3mqtxptcot5ep72c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mllosbu2ap2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/workingclasshistory.com/post/3mlln4nqji62o#OtD 11 May 1911 tram workers in Montevideo, Uruguay, went on strike demanding reinstatement sacked union workers. The strike grew and demands were added like an 8-hour day. After a general strike, most demands were won and a 9-hour day agreed. More: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/12551/montevideo-tram-strike11 May 2026 15:55 +0000at://did:plc:4zzmrr3g3mqtxptcot5ep72c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlln4nqji62ohttps://bsky.app/profile/workingclasshistory.com/post/3mlkxdbuqoj25#OtD 11 May 1894 the Pullman railroad strike began in Chicago after the firing of 3 workers. The biggest strike in US history to date, it was only eventually broken by federal government troops and the killing of at least 24 strikers https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8336/pullman-strike-begins11 May 2026 09:25 +0000at://did:plc:4zzmrr3g3mqtxptcot5ep72c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlkxdbuqoj25https://bsky.app/profile/workingclasshistory.com/post/3mlkrhhvrfo2b#OtD 11 May 1972 the OPR-33, armed wing of the Uruguayan Anarchist Federation, kidnapped a shoe manufacturer whose workers were on strike. They ransomed him for $10 million which they used to publicise the crimes of the dictatorship https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8339/molaguero-kidnapping11 May 2026 07:40 +0000at://did:plc:4zzmrr3g3mqtxptcot5ep72c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlkrhhvrfo2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/workingclasshistory.com/post/3mlkfgzbg3z25📣 New Podcast! "11 May 1894: Pullman strike" on @Spreaker #anniversaries_history #chicago #day #facts_weekly #history #history_historical #history_otd_on #history_weekly #illinois #in #lives #news_everyday #railway #stories_daily #this #workers https://www.spreaker.com/episode/11-may-1894-pullman-strike--7186908111 May 2026 04:05 +0000at://did:plc:4zzmrr3g3mqtxptcot5ep72c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlkfgzbg3z25https://bsky.app/profile/workingclasshistory.com/post/3mljng5ilby2h#OtD 10 May 1926 the Flying Scotsman was derailed just north of Newcastle during the general strike. Striking miners had removed a section of track to stop trains, but the scab driver carried on and derailed the train. Luckily, only 1 person was hurt https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/12474/flying-scotsman-train-derailed10 May 2026 20:55 +0000at://did:plc:4zzmrr3g3mqtxptcot5ep72c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mljng5ilby2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/workingclasshistory.com/post/3mljfurvr2j25#OtD 10 May 1968 the "night of the barricades" took place in Paris. It saw some of the most severe street fighting of the May '68 rebellion. Books, reproduction posters and more from May 68 available here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/collections/may-6810 May 2026 18:40 +0000at://did:plc:4zzmrr3g3mqtxptcot5ep72c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mljfurvr2j25https://bsky.app/profile/workingclasshistory.com/post/3mljezvzpzl2m#OtD 10 May 1920 dock workers in England refused to load armaments for use by Allies against the Russian Revolution. Sylvia Pankhurst played a key role in organising this, as did a woman known only as "Mrs Walker from Poplar" https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8226/ss-jolly-george-boycott10 May 2026 18:25 +0000at://did:plc:4zzmrr3g3mqtxptcot5ep72c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mljezvzpzl2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/workingclasshistory.com/post/3mlje74njhl26#OtD 10 May 1904 Dutch cellist, conductor, lesbian and anti-Nazi resistance member Frieda Belinfante was born. During the occupation she forged documents for people and took part in attack on population registry. She survived the war https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8225/frieda-belinfante10 May 2026 18:10 +0000at://did:plc:4zzmrr3g3mqtxptcot5ep72c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlje74njhl26https://bsky.app/profile/workingclasshistory.com/post/3mlje74ezdk2y#OtD 10 May 2000 gay rights activists in Glasgow climbed on top of a Stagecoach bus, owned by homophobe Brian Souter, and covered it with pink paint. They were protesting Souter's £1m support of a campaign for keeping the homophobic section 28 law https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8229/stagecoach-vandalism10 May 2026 18:10 +0000at://did:plc:4zzmrr3g3mqtxptcot5ep72c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlje74ezdk2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/workingclasshistory.com/post/3mlipcbwlme2y#OtD 10 May 1857 a rebellion against the British East India Company began in India. Indian troops mutinied, sparking other mutinies and civilian uprisings. It was ultimately unsuccessful but forced the company to dissolve. More on resistance to empire: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/en-gb/collections/books/products/insurgent-empire-anticolonial-resistance-and-british-dissent-priyamvada-gopal10 May 2026 11:56 +0000at://did:plc:4zzmrr3g3mqtxptcot5ep72c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlipcbwlme2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/workingclasshistory.com/post/3mlipalp5fy2o#OtD 10 May 1997 the Can Vies building in Barcelona was occupied by young residents of Sants-La Bordeta. They set up a self-managed social centre, providing social housing, meeting spaces, debates, a popular newspaper publishing office, and more https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8016/occupation-of-can-vies10 May 2026 11:55 +0000at://did:plc:4zzmrr3g3mqtxptcot5ep72c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlipalp5fy2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/workingclasshistory.com/post/3mlinkv2r5225#OtD 10 May 1941 the Strike of the 100,000 took place in Nazi-occupied Belgium on the first anniversary of German invasion. Authorities granted an 8% pay increase but arrested hundreds and sent many to concentration camps https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8227/strike-of-the-100,000-begins10 May 2026 11:25 +0000at://did:plc:4zzmrr3g3mqtxptcot5ep72c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlinkv2r5225https://bsky.app/profile/workingclasshistory.com/post/3mlilv7rlnx2y#OtD 10 May 2021 tens of thousands of garment, textile, shoe and leather workers in Lesotho went on strike demanding a pay increase, which hadn't been paid in 2 years. Despite police violence, workers eventually won a pay increase of 14%. Learn more: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/7726/lesotho-garment-workers-on-strike10 May 2026 10:55 +0000at://did:plc:4zzmrr3g3mqtxptcot5ep72c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlilv7rlnx2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/workingclasshistory.com/post/3mlik7laom32h#OtD 10 May 2009 leading Ecuadorian Indigenous rights activist and revolutionary Transito Amaguaña died a few weeks away from her 100th birthday. She helped establish some of the first agricultural unions, as well as coops and schools for rural kids https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8230/tr%C3%A1nsito-amagua%C3%B1a-dies10 May 2026 10:25 +0000at://did:plc:4zzmrr3g3mqtxptcot5ep72c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlik7laom32hhttps://bsky.app/profile/workingclasshistory.com/post/3mli3ykiueg2w#OtD 10 May 2022 riders for food delivery service Talabat went on strike in Dubai. A few days after a strike by Deliveroo workers, South Asian migrant Talabat workers stopped work demanding a pay increase, despite strikes and unions being illegal https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/7727/talabat-riders-strike10 May 2026 06:10 +0000at://did:plc:4zzmrr3g3mqtxptcot5ep72c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mli3ykiueg2whttps://bsky.app/profile/workingclasshistory.com/post/3mli3yk3ypo2o#OtD 10 May 1894 the Pullman Company fired three railway workers for being on the grievance committee. That evening, workers voted to strike and the next day shut Pullman down. Brecher's excellent book tells the story of what became a historic dispute: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/collections/books/products/strike-jeremy-brecher10 May 2026 06:10 +0000at://did:plc:4zzmrr3g3mqtxptcot5ep72c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mli3yk3ypo2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/workingclasshistory.com/post/3mli2bxfojv2y#OtD 10 May 1654 an enslaved African man named Olivier Le Jeune was buried in Québec, Canada. He had been the first recorded enslaved African brought to New France. Prior to that point, all of the enslaved people in the colony were Native Americans https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8222/olivier-le-jeune-buried10 May 2026 05:40 +0000at://did:plc:4zzmrr3g3mqtxptcot5ep72c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mli2bxfojv2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/workingclasshistory.com/post/3mlhymcvhxw2n#OtD 10 May 1933 German Nazis held their first book-burning. In Berlin they burned the library of the Sexology Institute, founded by Magnus Hirschfeld, which supported LGBT+ rights. Joseph Goebbels declared: "No to decadence and moral corruption!" https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/11315/nazi-book-burning10 May 2026 05:10 +0000at://did:plc:4zzmrr3g3mqtxptcot5ep72c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlhymcvhxw2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/workingclasshistory.com/post/3mlhuy3vz552y📣 New Podcast! "10 May 1941: strike of the 100,000" on @Spreaker #anniversaries_history #antifa #belgium #day #facts_weekly #history #history_historical #history_otd_on #history_weekly #ii #in #lives #news_everyday #stories_daily #strikes #this #war #world https://www.spreaker.com/episode/10-may-1941-strike-of-the-100-000--7186907110 May 2026 04:05 +0000at://did:plc:4zzmrr3g3mqtxptcot5ep72c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlhuy3vz552yhttps://bsky.app/profile/workingclasshistory.com/post/3mlhacibwst2y#OtD 9 May 1866 Jewish-Russian anarchist poet, David Edelstadt, was born in Russia. Moving to New York to escape pograms, he joined the first Jewish anarchist group in the area, The Pioneers of Liberty. Working in sweatshops, he died aged 26 https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/12550/david-edelstadt-born09 May 2026 21:55 +0000at://did:plc:4zzmrr3g3mqtxptcot5ep72c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlhacibwst2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/workingclasshistory.com/post/3mlgzlw7ksg2h#OtD 9 May 1978 communist anti-Mafia campaigner Giuseppe ‘Peppino' Impastato was murdered during an election campaign. He was beaten and blown up with TNT, but for over 20 years police claimed he was a terrorist who blew himself up https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10936/giuseppe-impastato-murdered09 May 2026 19:55 +0000at://did:plc:4zzmrr3g3mqtxptcot5ep72c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlgzlw7ksg2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/workingclasshistory.com/post/3mlgyra76ls2y#OtD 9 May 1976 Ulrike Meinhof, co-founder of the West German urban guerrilla group Red Army Faction, was found hanged in prison. Some question whether she actually killed herself or was murdered. Learn more about the group in this book: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/collections/books/products/the-red-army-faction-a-documentary-history-volume-1-projectiles-for-the-people09 May 2026 19:40 +0000at://did:plc:4zzmrr3g3mqtxptcot5ep72c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlgyra76ls2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/workingclasshistory.com/post/3mlgnufq4uj25#OtD 9 May 1913 Jewish garment worker, Joe Jacobs, was born in London's East End. A participant at Cable Street, he was active in the Communist Party in the 1930s, was expelled (twice!) and later co-founded the libertarian socialist group, Solidarity https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10928/joe-jacobs-born09 May 2026 16:25 +0000at://did:plc:4zzmrr3g3mqtxptcot5ep72c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlgnufq4uj25https://bsky.app/profile/workingclasshistory.com/post/3mlgmzlr6442h#OtD 9 May 2012 Vidal Sassoon, "anti-fascist warrior hairdresser" died aged 84. As a teenager in London he fought Oswald Mosley's fascists in the streets with his hairdressing scissors, as part of the militant 43 Group. Learn about the group in our pod: https://workingclasshistory.com/2020/02/17/e35-37-the-43-group/09 May 2026 16:10 +0000at://did:plc:4zzmrr3g3mqtxptcot5ep72c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlgmzlr6442hhttps://bsky.app/profile/workingclasshistory.com/post/3mlgh5t3eup2o#OtD 9 May 1970 100,000 people marched in Washington, DC, protesting against the Vietnam War, five days after Kent State killings https://workingclasshistory.com/tag/vietnam-war/09 May 2026 14:25 +0000at://did:plc:4zzmrr3g3mqtxptcot5ep72c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlgh5t3eup2o