International Women's Day

(left) and Rosa Luxemburg (right) in January 1910]] The earliest reported Women's Day event, called "Woman's Day", was held on 28 February 1909, in New York City. It was organized by the Socialist Party of America at the suggestion of activist Theresa Malkiel. There have been claims that the day was commemorating a protest by women garment workers in New York on 8 March 1857, but researchers have described this as a myth. In August 1910, an International Socialist Women's Conference was organized ahead of the general meeting of the Socialist Second International in Copenhagen, Denmark. Inspired in part by the American socialists, German delegates Clara Zetkin, Käte Duncker, Paula Thiede,…

On 8 March 1917, in Petrograd (23 February in the Julian calendar), women textile workers began a demonstration that eventually engulfed the whole city, demanding "Bread and Peace"—an end to World War I, to food shortages, and to Tsarism. Revolutionary leader Leon Trotsky wrote, "23 February (8 March) was International Woman's Day and meetings and actions were foreseen. But we did not imagine that this 'Women's Day' would inaugurate the revolution. Revolutionary actions were foreseen but without a date. But in the morning, despite the orders to the contrary, textile workers left their work in several factories and sent delegates to ask for the support of the strike… which led to mass…