Haymarket Memorial

Memorial to the 1886 Haymarket Affair – the origin of International Workers' Day on 1 May.

The Haymarket Memorial in Chicago commemorates one of the most defining events in American labour history. On 1 May 1886 Chicago unions launched a nationwide strike for the eight-hour workday. On 4 May a rally at Haymarket Square turned violent when an unknown person threw a bomb into a police line – several officers and protesters died. The subsequent trials of anarchists and union leaders are widely regarded as politically motivated; four men were executed. These events gave rise to the international tradition of marking 1 May as Labour Day. The present memorial on Randolph Street honours the victims and stands as a reminder of the struggle for workers' rights that continues to resonate today.