September 27
U.S. president Franklin Roosevelt writes to German chancellor Adolf Hitler regarding the threat of war in Europe, especially in the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia. Hitler ignored the international community’s pleas for a peaceful solution and later invades Czechoslovakia in March 1939. – 1938.
September 28
In one of the worst maritime disasters of the century, 852 passengers die when the Estonia, a large car-and-passenger ferry, sinks in the Baltic Sea. – 1994.
September 29
Seven persons suddenly die of unknown causes in northwest Chicago. Further investigation revealed that all seven took Tylenol capsules, which had been poisoned with cyanide. The culprit was never caught, but the mass murder led to new tamper-proof medicine containers. – 1982.
September 30
U.S. president Woodrow Wilson gives a speech in Congress in support of guaranteeing women the right to vote. – 1918.
Black farmers meet in Elaine, Ark. to establish the Progressive Farmers and Householders Union to fight for better pay and higher cotton prices. They are shot at by a group of whites, and return the fire. News of the confrontation spread and a riot ensues, which leaves at least 100, perhaps several hundred blacks, dead and 67 indicted for inciting violence. – 1919.
Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, French premier Edouard Daladier, and British prime minister Neville Chamberlain sign the Munich Pact, which seals the fate of Czechoslovakia to virtually hand it over to Germany in the name of peace. – 1938.
October 1
An act of Congress creates Yosemite National Park. U.S. president Benjamin Harrison paved the way for generations of hikers, campers, and nature lovers, along with countless “Don’t Feed the Bears” signs. – 1890.
The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) is signed by president Richard Nixon which requires employers to provide safe and healthy work-places. – 1970.
October 2
Joining with 400,000 coal miners already on strike, 500,000 CIO steel workers close down the Nation’s foundries, steel mills, and iron mills, demand for pensions, better wages, and better working conditions. – 1949.
October 3
Expressing gratitude for a pivotal Union Army victory at Gettysburg, U.S. president Abraham Lincoln announces that the Nation will celebrate an official Thanksgiving holiday November 26. – 1863.
The 120,000 workers at 88 Ford plants in 26 states walk out to win higher wages and better benefits for their members. Workers at GM had gone on strike the previous month to win substantial wage and benefit improvements. – 1961.
After a 252-day trial, O.J. Simpson is acquitted of a double murder charge. – 1995.
Sources: History.com, Toil and Trouble, by Thomas R. Brooks; American Labor Struggles, by Samuel Yellen; IWW calendar, Solidarity Forever; Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor, edited by Robert E. Weir and James P. Hanlan; Southwest Labor History Archives/George Meany Center; Geov Parrish’s Radical History; workday Minnesota; Andy Richards and Adam Wright, AFL-CIO Washington DC Metro Council.