On this day in ...… 1980, shipyard workers in Gdansk, Poland, staged a successful strike (right) in protest over the dismissal of militant crane driver and a Polish trade unionist Anna Walentynowicz, who had been fired 5 months before she was due to retire in response to her participation in the illegal trade union. This strike in the Gdansk shipyard led to many more throughout Poland and, eventually, to the creation of Solidarity, the Polish trade union federation of which Walentynowicz became a prominent member. (photo credit)
… 1947, Danielle Fernande
Dominique Schuelein-Steel, better known as Danielle Steel (left), American romantic novelist and author of mainstream dramas, was born in New York City. (photo credit) Steel has sold more than 550 million copies of her books worldwide, and 22 of her books have been adapted for television. Steel's novels have been on the New York Times bestseller list for more than 390 consecutive weeks, and every novel has been a bestseller.(Prior August 14 posts are here and here.)
