May Day is International Workers' Day, a date commemorating the 1886 Haymarket Massacre in Chicago. The first congress of the Second International in 1889, meeting in Paris for the centennial of the French Revolution and the Exposition Universelle, following a proposal by Raymond Lavigne, called for international demonstrations on the 1890 anniversary of the Chicago protests. May Day was formally recognized as an annual event at the International's second congress in 1891.

May Day has found new life as a day to protest for immigrant rights in the United States (Arizona), against nuclear power in Japan,against inflation in Thailand, and as a date for hackers to target Islamist tyranny in Iran.

LinksEdit

• Political Lexicon