Today in Labor History—October 26

Nestor Makhno, 1909

October 26, 1889 – The Ukranian anarchist general Nestor Makhno was born on this date in Gulyai-Polye. Makhno led a large insurrectionary army of peasants and helped defeat the reactionary White armies. It was eventually crushed by Trotsky. Makhno died in exile in Paris, July 25, 1934. (From the Daily Bleed)

Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, c1900

 October 26, 1902 – Woman's rights leader Elizabeth Cady Stanton died on this date in New York City. (From the Daily Bleed)

October 26, 1905 – Workers in St. Petersburg formed the first workers' council (Soviet) to coordinate militant job actions and strikes. (From the Daily Bleed)

Mural of Sandino (image shot in 1987, by cromacom)

October 26, 1926 – Augusto Sandino took up arms against the Nicaraguan state. Sandino had been living in exile in México during the early 1920s, where he participated in strikes led by the IWW. Inspired by the IWW, he adopted the IWW's black & red colors for the Sandinista flag. (From the Daily Bleed)

October 26, 1956 – Russian tanks fired on unarmed demonstrators in Budapest, leading to armed resistance and a General Strike. (From the Daily Bleed)

October 26, 1949 - President Truman raised the federal minimum wage from 40 cents to 75 cents. (From Workday Minnesota)