The Haymarket Affair took place on Tuesday May 4, 1886, at Haymarket Square in Chicago.During a rally in support of striking workers a bomb was thrown at police as they broke up the meeting. The blast and melee that followed resulted in the death of 8 police and an unknown number of civilians.
When the case came to trial, eight anarchists were tried for murder. Four were put to death, and one committed suicide in prison.
