Radical History Blog

Nelson Mandela was not the only radical to fight for African liberation during the late-20 th century. Born today in 1924, Amílcar Cabral led the fight to overthrow Portuguese colonialism in Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde.

On this day in 1828, Leo Tolstoy was born into the Russian aristocracy – but he wouldn’t stay there. Tolstoy renounced his privilege to become an anarchist (Picture: F. W.

Born today in 1795, Frances 'Fanny' Wright is one of the most remarkable yet least known revolutionaries we’ve ever heard of. Frances 'Fanny' Wright was just as remarkable as famous radicals like Tom Paine and Francisco da Miranda.

Today in 1944, after four, brutal years of Nazi occupation, Paris was liberated by a motley coalition of left-wing Partisans, Spanish Republicans, and Allied soldiers.

Today marks the centenary of the 19th Amendment, the culmination of a struggle which had contested the limits of what it means to be human in the United States.Source: Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America (ca.

Some say that the historic campaign for women's votes is too tarnished by racism to celebrate today. I respectfully disagree.

The composer Dmitri Shostakovich died today in 1975. Decades earlier, during WW2, his Seventh Symphony became a global beacon of resistance to the Nazi empire when it was performed by a half-starved orchestra during the siege of Leningrad.

Nearly 200 years ago, outside the bustle of Britain’s industrial cities, the seemingly quiet Welsh countryside became a battleground in the fight against economic injustice.

Born today in 1924, James Baldwin was driven from the US by its entrenched racism but he never gave up the dream of an American society in which all could be at peace and thrive.

Today in 1903, Mother Jones gave the most stunning speech in her long life of working-class struggle. "Mourn for the dead, fight like hell for the living.” This is the immortal battle cry of Mary G.