10 Interesting Facts About International Workers Day
It is also known as May Day and on this day several organized street demonstrations can be witnessed across the globe in numerous countries. This day is officially celebrated in around 80 countries but is also unofficially celebrated in other countries as well. Every day which is celebrated has got some history of its own and similar is the case with May Day. It goes back to the year 1886 when a massacre occurred in the Haymarket square of Chicago. Prima facie, it was a smooth and calm rally initiated by the worker class in favor of the eight-hour working day but soon this peaceful rally turned out to be a huge massacre which marked a history. An unidentified person threw a bomb on the police which was there to control the demonstration. In return the police back-fired and killed several workers in doing so. A few policemen were also killed probably due to the friendly fire. Let us get on the top ten list to learn more about international workers day.
Facts About International Workers Day
10.In the year 1992, the site where the incident took place was designated as a Chicago Landmark and subsequently, in 2004, a monument was built there in the memory of the deplorable event of the past.
9.In 1997, the public monument at Haymarket Square was designated a National Historic Landmark.
8.After the year 1879, U.S witnessed an era of rapid industrialization as a result of which a huge workforce was employed in various industries. Chicago was the hub of all the industrial activity and the workers there were exploited by the employers. The pressure kept building up in the workers which erupted like a boiling volcano in 1886.
7.In 1884, the cause for which the workers held demonstrations in 1886 was already catered for by the Federation of Organized Trade and Labor Unions. The eight-hour work day was made standard for the workers.
6.Can you just imagine the number of workers who took part in the rally? It was more than 300,000 to half a million workers. In New York, there were around 10,000 workers whereas in Detroit there were 11,000.
5.It will really be interesting to know the exact wording of the police commander who ordered the crowd to disperse from the spot. He said “I command you [addressing the speaker] in the name of the law to desist and you [addressing the crowd] to disperse.” (International Worker’s Day, Wikipedia) His name was Inspector Bonfield.
4.In the year 1889, the International Workers’ Men Association in Paris declared 1st May as an official holiday.
3.May Day, along with the significance of the aforementioned facts and figures, also marks the transition from winter to summer season.
2.A bronze statue of the policeman, who was killed in the 1886 rally, was built in the middle of the Haymarket Square. The funds for this venture were raised by the Union League Club of Chicago. But on May 4, 1927, the statue was being hit and destroyed by a motorist who later on claimed that he was sick of seeing that policeman with his arms raised.
1.The most unfortunate and sorrow fact of the 1886 rally was most of the policemen were killed by each other’s fire. It was night time and they couldn’t exactly spot the demonstrators. However, due to the firing frenzy the police was able to get rid of the demonstration very quickly and the square was emptied in less than five minutes.
