When societies reach a breaking point, the streets can erupt into chaos, and the deadliest riots in history have left indelible scars on nations and peoples alike.

Understanding the Impact of Deadliest Riots

From political oppression to economic collapse, each of these uprisings sparked a wave of violence that reshaped the course of a country. Below, we walk through the ten most lethal riots, noting how they started, what fueled the carnage, and how they finally quieted.

10 8888 Uprising (Burma, 1988) Death Toll: 3,000

How it began: After years of draconian rule under General Ne Win, Burma’s economy spiraled downward, leaving ordinary citizens to shoulder crushing hardships. On August 8 1988—hence the moniker “8888”—massive demonstrations erupted across Rangoon. Hundreds of thousands flooded the streets demanding change, only to be met with a brutal military police response that opened fire on unarmed crowds. The turmoil thrust Aung San Suu Kyi onto the world stage, eventually earning her the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize for her non‑violent resistance.

How it ended: The junta tightened its grip, deploying troops that sprayed bullets into the throngs. By the time the crackdown wound down, roughly 3,000 demonstrators lay dead. Survivors faced arrest, exile, or disappearance, and Burma’s march toward democracy stalled until a tentative election finally arrived in 2010.

9 March 1st Movement (Korea, 1919) Death Toll: 7,500

How it began: Korea’s annexation by Japan in 1910 sowed deep resentment. Inspired by President Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points—championing self‑determination—an increasingly educated populace rallied for independence. March 1, 1919, was deliberately chosen to honor the late Korean emperor’s memorial day, and the protests quickly swelled into the largest anti‑colonial demonstration in Korean history.

How it ended: Although the march was intended to be peaceful, Japanese troops opened fire on dense gatherings, leaving thousands dead. Over two million participants faced brutal repression; 46,000 were imprisoned and approximately 7,500 were killed. While the movement did not secure immediate sovereignty, it forced Japan to loosen its grip and paved the way for the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea.

8 Romanian Peasants’ Revolt (Romania, 1907) Death Toll: 11,000

How it began: In early‑20th‑century Romania, peasants—who made up roughly 80 % of the population yet owned little land—grew enraged by the exploitation of wealthy landowners. The spark ignited in March 1907 when unrest spread like wildfire, turning protests into outright murder in the country’s southern regions. Although anti‑Jewish sentiment initially played a role, the violence soon transcended religious lines, engulfing areas with virtually no Jewish presence.

How it ended: The faltering Conservative government gave way to Liberal rule, which declared a state of emergency and dispatched over 100,000 soldiers to suppress the uprising. Within a week, the revolt was crushed, restoring governmental control. King Carol I ordered the destruction of official records, leaving historians to estimate the death toll at around 11,000.

7 “The Bloody Week” (France, 1871) Death Toll: 20,000

How it began: The Paris Commune, a radical socialist group, seized control of the French capital in 1871 after fears that the monarchy might be restored. The Commune’s rise followed the disarmament of the National Guard, and while neighboring communes were swiftly crushed, Paris’s militia stood defiantly against the national government.

How it ended: On May 21, disorganized Commune troops were overwhelmed as government forces stormed poorly defended districts, indiscriminately firing on anyone bearing arms or even suspected of aiding rebels. Known as La Semaine Sanglante (“The Bloody Week”), the assault left up to 20,000 civilians dead, while only about 750 government soldiers perished. The aftermath saw a brutal crackdown and nearly 40,000 arrests.

6 The 228 Massacre (Taiwan, 1947) Death Toll: 28,000

How it began: After Japan surrendered at the end of World II, Taiwan—long ruled by the Japanese—was placed under temporary Chinese military administration. Initially hailed as liberators, Chinese authorities quickly imposed a repressive regime that devastated the island’s poorest citizens. The final straw came when a widowed woman selling cigarettes without a license was arrested and beaten, sparking nationwide protests on February 28, 1947.

How it ended: The government pretended to negotiate while massing troops. On March 8, soldiers arrived and opened fire on demonstrators, killing thousands. Estimates place the death toll at about 28,000, with countless more arrested. A period of martial law known as the “White Terror” persisted until 1987, cementing an era of severe oppression.

5 El Salvadoran Peasant Uprising (El Salvador, 1932) Death Toll: 30,000

How it began: In the late 1800s, coffee became El Salvador’s primary export, prompting wealthy growers to amass vast plantations and displace indigenous peoples into dire poverty. The 1929 stock‑market crash and ensuing Great Depression devastated the coffee market, plunging the nation into economic chaos. Led by Agustín Farabundo Martí, a massive peasant army rose against the elite, demanding urgent reforms.

How it ended: The military and police unleashed a campaign of ruthless repression known as La Matanza (“The Slaughter”). Indigenous people were targeted simply for their appearance, and death estimates range from 10,000 to 30,000. The brutality erased much of the indigenous culture, forcing survivors to conceal their heritage for safety.

4 Jeju Island Uprising (South Korea, 1948‑1949) Death Toll: 60,000

How it began: As Cold‑War tensions split the Korean peninsula, the United Nations backed elections in the South while the Soviet Union disputed the process. Residents of Jeju Island, wary of UN‑supported polls, staged peaceful protests in 1947. Police opened fire, killing six demonstrators, and the following year the unrest escalated into full‑scale riots targeting government buildings.

How it ended: Negotiations collapsed, prompting the South Korean government to launch a systematic campaign of terror. Military units killed indiscriminately, with reports of sexual violence against kidnapped girls. Death estimates hover around 60,000—roughly one‑fifth of the island’s population—and about 70 % of villages were razed.

3 Tibetan Uprising (Tibet, 1959) Death Toll: 86,000

How it began: After China’s forces seized control of Tibet following World II, tensions over land rights and governmental policies ignited violent clashes. In early March 1959, nearly 10,000 people surrounded the Dalai Lama to prevent what they saw as a trap at a Chinese headquarters. On March 10, anti‑Communist protesters flooded Lhasa, prompting the Dalai Lama to flee to India for safety.

How it ended: Nine days later, Chinese troops bombarded the Dalai Lama’s palace, Norbulingka, sparking fierce but hopeless resistance. The poorly armed rebels were crushed within two days, and a sweeping crackdown claimed approximately 86,000 Tibetan lives.

2 La Violencia (Colombia, 1948‑1960) Death Toll: 200,000

How it began: In 1948, the assassination of popular Liberal presidential hopeful Jorge Eliécer Gaitán ignited the Bogotazo riots, which killed nearly 5,000 people in just ten hours. The ensuing period saw brutal oppression, with sporadic rural uprisings persisting for years. When Conservative Laureano Gómez assumed the presidency in 1950, Liberals were labeled communists and systematically suppressed, leading to monthly death spikes of over 1,000.

How it ended: General Gustavo Rojas Pinilla seized power in 1953, promising reform that never materialized, allowing rural anger to fester. A collapse in coffee prices forced his removal by a military junta, after which a civilian government emerged and the sporadic violence gradually waned. Throughout the turmoil, an estimated 200,000 people perished and 800,000 suffered injuries.

1 ,000,000

How it began: After nearly a century under British rule, India achieved independence in 1947. To address fears of Muslim dominance, the British carved a new nation—Pakistan—from western territories with a Muslim majority. Over ten million people were forced to migrate based on religious affiliation, and a hastily drawn border sparked ferocious riots, especially in Punjab and Bengal.

How it ended: The carnage took on genocidal characteristics, with pregnant women, children, and even genital mutilation becoming commonplace. Religious fanaticism dominated both nascent nations throughout 1947, prompting the British to split the subcontinent. When the bloodshed finally subsided, death estimates ranged from 500,000 to a staggering one million.

When societies reach a breaking point, the pressure can explode into the chaotic, destructive, and often unforgettable events we call riots. The saga of the 10 historical riots we’ll explore shows how ordinary people, pushed to the edge, can force governments, economies, and cultures to change forever.

10 Tonypandy Riots

Decades after his death, Winston Churchill remains a polarising figure—hailed for wartime leadership yet criticised for earlier domestic interventions. In 1910, while serving as Home Secretary, Churchill was tasked with quelling a bitter dispute between police and coal miners in the Rhondda Valley, South Wales. The miners, fed up with the Cambrian Combine’s price‑fixing and wage suppression, launched a strike that effectively shut down most local pits, even as owners brought in strikebreakers.

On November 7, a clash erupted: miners first faced police officers, and later that night they engaged in a violent showdown with Cardiff constables in Tonypandy Square. Popular narratives paint Churchill as the villain who dispatched troops and authorised ammunition, but recent correspondence reveals a more nuanced picture—no conclusive evidence of a single shot fired at Tonypandy, and Churchill appeared reluctant to involve soldiers.

The aftermath was significant. Within a year, a nationwide miners’ strike swept Britain, prompting the Coal Mines Act of 1912, which finally secured a statutory minimum wage for coal miners.

9 Champagne Riots

In 1911, French viticulturists were battling over more than just grapes—they were fighting for the very definition of Champagne. The fledgling ‘controlled designation of origin’ favoured the Marne and Aisne districts while sidelining the Aube region. Coupled with poor harvests and louse infestations, growers were furious.

Most growers didn’t make Champagne themselves; they sold their grapes to winemakers. With crop failures and soaring demand, winemakers scrambled for grapes, yet still wanted to label their product “Champagne.” Like British coal owners, Champagne houses colluded to keep grape prices low. In January 1911, enraged growers seized grape‑laden trucks, dumping them into rivers, and attacked several villages—Ay suffered the worst. The French government responded with thousands of troops.

Post‑riot, the state clarified the Champagne zone to include Aube and instituted a point‑system still used today to assess grape value and curb collusion. While Marne growers lost their edge, the unrest resurfaced in April, only to be eclipsed by the looming threat of World War I, which united the parties against a greater enemy.

8 Zoot Suit Riots

During the 1930s, the flamboyant zoot suit became a badge of identity for minority youths, especially Mexican‑American pachucos. By 1943, the suit’s excesses—extra fabric and bold cuts—clashed with wartime rationing and a climate of racial tension in Los Angeles, where a large Latino population lived alongside white servicemen stationed across Southern California.

The suit was linked by the media to gang violence, especially after the 1942 “Sleepy Lagoon” murder case, and deemed un‑patriotic for its lavish use of wool during strict War Production Board restrictions. As a result, bootleg tailors supplied the suits. Skirmishes between U.S. personnel and Latino youths intensified throughout 1943, with police largely absent, the press stoking the fire, and commanding officers shielding their men from arrest.

On June 7, the violence peaked: roughly 5,000 soldiers and civilians stormed Black and Latino neighborhoods, assaulting anyone in zoot suits. The backlash forced the military to ban servicemen from Los Angeles and outlawed the suit itself. A subsequent committee identified racism as the core cause, contradicting Mayor Fletcher Bowron’s view that juvenile delinquency and Southern white attitudes were to blame. The riots later inspired civil‑rights leaders like Malcolm X and Cesar Chavez.

7 Rice Riots

Prime Minister Terauchi Masatake, a distinguished gensui of the Imperial Japanese Army, saw his cabinet crumble in 1918 after the most massive civil unrest in modern Japanese history. Terauchi’s aggressive expansion—annexing Korea, financing Chinese warlord Duan Qirui, and joining the Allies to seize Pacific and Indian Ocean colonies—led to overseas engagements that strained the home front.

Domestically, inflation caused rice prices to double almost overnight. The government hoarded rice for troops involved in the Siberian Intervention, further tightening supplies. The first peaceful protest erupted in Uozu, a tiny fishing village in Toyama Prefecture, in July 1918. From there, protests swelled, spreading to Nagoya in August, where they erupted into full‑blown riots. Roughly one‑third of Nagoya’s 430,000 residents joined the upheaval, and estimates suggest over 10 million participants nationwide, with Tokyo, Osaka, and Kobe also rocked by rioting as rice farmers allied with factory workers and miners.

The Rice Riots forced the Terauchi cabinet to resign, highlighting the volatile link between food security and political stability.

6 Reveillon Riots

The French Revolution, spanning 1789‑1799, reshaped monarchy, republic, and empire. Yet the spark that ignited the blaze arrived two months before the storming of the Bastille: the Reveillon riots of April 1789. Factory owner Jean‑Baptise Reveillon, reminiscing about a time when a man could survive on 15 sous a day, unintentionally hinted at wage cuts. Workers misread his nostalgia as a direct threat to their livelihoods.

On April 26, a largely peaceful protest turned deadly when the French Guard opened fire, killing dozens. Authorities responded with arrests and public hangings, hoping to quell the unrest. Instead, the brutality only inflamed the crowd, culminating in a violent assault on Reveillon’s home and factory.

Historians view the Reveillon riots as a “dress rehearsal” for the broader revolutionary fervour that would soon engulf France, demonstrating how economic grievances can ignite political upheaval.

5 Esquilache Riots

Before the French Revolution, Spain under Charles III attempted sweeping reforms—one of which targeted fashion. Influenced by French trends, Charles wanted citizens to swap traditional long capes and broad‑brimmed hats for tricorn hats and shorter capes. Italian minister Leopoldo de Gregorio, Marquis of Esquilache, spearheaded the decree.

Initially ignored, the edict collided with a grain‑price crisis spurred by Esquilache’s liberalisation of the grain trade. On March 10, 1766, the old attire was outlawed. Small protests grew, and on March 23, about 6,000 demonstrators stormed Esquilache’s mansion. The following day, over 20,000 marched on the royal palace in Madrid, compelling the king to concede.

Fearing for his safety, Charles fled to Aranjuez. Public suspicion that the king’s concessions were merely a tactical pause sparked fresh riots. To restore order, Charles dismissed Esquilache, reinstated traditional dress, and, seeking a scapegoat, turned against the Jesuits—leading to their suppression in 1767.

4 Vata Pagan Riots

Introducing a new faith is rarely smooth. In 1046, Hungary witnessed a violent backlash against Christianity that toppled its king. Peter Urseolo, nephew of Hungary’s first monarch Stephen I, reclaimed the throne in 1044 with Holy Roman Empire support after a prior dethronement. His reign ended abruptly when a pagan uprising, led by chief Vata, erupted.

Oddly, the rebellion’s leaders—Christian brothers András, Béla, and Levente—were cousins of Peter and sought to restore their claim. They allied with Vata, whose forces aimed to eradicate Christianity. Peter was overthrown and reportedly killed by an angry mob, while András ascended the throne, paradoxically strengthening Christian institutions rather than ending them.

The Vata uprising marked the final major attempt to purge Christianity from Hungary. Notably, several bishops were slain, later canonised as martyrs; among them, Gerard Sagredo (Saint Gellert) met a gruesome death—either stoned and lanced or carted to a cliff and plunged into the Danube.

3 St. Scholastica Day Riot

On February 10, 1355, Oxford’s calendar recorded a day of bloodshed that would echo for nearly five centuries: the St. Scholastica Day Riot. Oxford, home to one of the world’s oldest universities, epitomised the classic “town‑and‑gown” divide—students versus townsfolk.

The spark ignited when a group of students complained about the wine at the Swindlestock Tavern. Insults flew, and soon hundreds of townsmen and scholars clashed. The violence escalated over the next days as thousands more townspeople marched on the university, overwhelming the out‑numbered scholars who were either beaten, imprisoned, or killed, while the campus was ransacked.

King Edward III intervened on the university’s behalf, imposing a new charter that granted scholars privileges and responsibilities aimed at preserving peace. As penance, the mayor of Oxford was required to walk bare‑headed and pay a penny for each scholar slain on every St. Scholastica Day—a tradition that persisted until 1825.

2 Riots Of Toulouse

The latter half of the 16th century in France was dominated by the Wars of Religion (1562‑1598), a brutal clash between Catholics and Protestant Huguenots. A key flashpoint was the 1562 Riots of Toulouse, where religious tensions boiled over into a week‑long siege that claimed thousands of lives.

While France remained officially Catholic, the Reformed Church of France was gaining adherents under Jean Calvin’s influence. In Toulouse, the Huguenot population ranged from 4,000 to 20,000, provoking alarm among Catholic authorities worried about nearby Calvinist‑controlled towns.

Events preceding the riots heightened the strain: news of the Huguenot massacre at Vassy, and a local dispute over the burial of a woman whose husband was Protestant while her family was Catholic. After the burial conflict, only Protestants were hanged; Catholic rioters received pardons from the Parlement, fueling resentment.

The resulting failed Protestant insurrection prompted the Parlement to label all Protestants as traitors. Between May 13‑17, 1562, Catholic forces flooded Toulouse, outnumbering the Protestants who were either imprisoned or killed in the streets. The violence spread to Sens and Tours, only temporarily halted by the 1563 Amboise truce.

1 Bloody Sunday

When most people today hear “Bloody Sunday,” they think of the 1972 tragedy in Northern Ireland. Yet the term originally described the January 22, 1905 massacre that ignited the Russian Revolution of 1905.

Following the 1861 emancipation of serfs, Russia’s burgeoning industrial workforce faced hazardous conditions, grueling hours, and paltry wages. On January 22, a massive peaceful demonstration—estimated at 3,000 to 50,000 participants—marched toward the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg to present a petition to the Tsar.

Without provocation, the Imperial Army opened fire, killing anywhere from 100 (official figures) to 4,000 (opposition estimates). Among the dead was movement leader Father Georgy Gapon. The carnage sparked a cascade of strikes across the empire, culminating in the 1905 Revolution, which forced the Tsar to adopt a new constitution, introduce a multi‑party system, and convene state assemblies called Dumas.

Although these reforms were largely temporary, they exposed the cracks in Tsarist autocracy. By 1917, the accumulated discontent led to a second, decisive revolution that toppled the Romanovs and birthed the Soviet Union.

Ready to dive deeper into the wild side of history? Share these stories on social media, explore more quirky past events, and keep the conversation alive!

Riots have occurred in many places for many reasons, but they are often sparked by serious and significant situations, circumstances, or events: in prisons due to overcrowding, insufficient food, inadequate healthcare, or other grievances; at protests, when people who are discriminated against demand equal treatment under the law; during acts of civil disobedience, in which citizens clash with law enforcement personnel; at assemblies whose attendees challenge the authorities suspected of having committed crimes against a suspect.

The Boston Tea Party protested the Tea Act, which was seen as subjecting American colonists to “taxation without representation” since the colonists were British citizens but were not represented by any of the members of the British Parliament that had imposed the Tea Act. However, not all large-scale acts of violence result from egregious offenses or grievances. Some are prompted by less important, or even relatively trivial, incidents, as these 10 cockamamie causes of riots amply demonstrate.

Related: 10 Historical Riots With Important Consequences

10 Oliver Twist

According to an article in the April 3, 1949, edition of The Washington Evening Star, during the 1940s, selected members of the Motion Picture Export Association previewed movies to decide which they thought should be forwarded to the U.S. Army’s Civil Affairs Division (ACAD). Once the ACAD received the films, its personnel also reviewed them to ascertain whether any of the pictures cast aspersions on the United States, denigrated life in America, or otherwise violated “broad policy directives” in any way. Despite such diligence, one of the movies that was approved for showing to American soldiers in Berlin was deemed an offender: the British production Oliver Twist (1948).

What was offensive about this adaptation of Charles Dickens’s famous novel? Allegedly, it was anti-Semitic; moreover, it had “caused a riot and supplied grist for the communist propaganda mill.” The article does not explain what was allegedly anti-Semitic about the movie, nor does it provide any details about the riot itself that the movie caused. However, the piece does list some of the other films found too offensive for American troops to see. Some of the more surprising titles include The Maltese Falcon, which Brigadier General Robert A. McClure, who commented on the banned movies’ problematic contents, said contained “too much blood and thunder” for the troops; 30 Seconds Over Tokyo because “the Germans took too much delight in seeing other people [i.e., the Japanese] getting shellacked”; and This Land Is Mine, which “tended to remind the Germans of their triumphant days during the Nazi occupation of France.”^[1]

9 King Creole

In 1958, Paramount Pictures released King Creole starring Elvis Presley and Carolyn Jones. It was a huge hit across the U.S. and much of the rest of the world. Mexico was an exception, where the movie caused a riot. As Jay Allen Sanford explains in his 2011 article on the melee, in 1959, “Mexico was in the midst of a huge anti-Elvis backlash.” The famed American singer was called a racist and a homosexual. According to columnist Federico de León, who made these false allegations, Presley had told him, “I’d rather kiss three black girls than a Mexican.”

The columnist’s scurrilous article was read on-air over Mexican Radio Exitos. Mexican journalists “suggested Elvis’s hip-wiggling and mannerisms proved he was either maricón (homosexual) or actually “a woman in reverse,” a woman in drag. The insolent artist was boycotted, his records were burned, and he was lampooned in a “musical spoof” the promotional posters for which depicted “Elvis in drag, being shot by rifle-toting men in sombreros, under a banner reading ‘Die Elvis Presley!’”

The same Mexican newspapers that had advertised the movie as Melodia Siniestra (Sinister Melody) reported that when the Américas Cinema showed King Creole in Mexico City in May 1959, the event caused a riot. Clearly, the anti-Elvis propaganda, based on false allegations by Federico de León, repeated by de León’s peers, and promoted in a musical spoof, was taken seriously enough to prompt violence in the nation’s capital.^[2]

8 “Die Wacht Am Rhine”

A patriotic German song, “Die Wacht Am Rhine” (“The Watch on the Rhine”), was also at the center of a riot. As reported in The San Francisco Call’s November 13, 1904, edition, the behavior of German scholars led to broken skulls in an altercation between them and Italian scholars at the University of Austria. More specifically, the article explained that the Germans had removed their own hats when they’d begun singing “Die Wacht Am Rhine,” and they’d insisted that everyone else join them in doing so. The “refusal [of] “Italians, Slavs and other non-Germans” to doff their hats led to bloodshed after the German students “knocked off their opponents’ headgear and trampled their hats and caps in the dust.”

As a result of the incident, the Italians mounted a counter-demonstration, singing their country’s national anthem, to which the Germans responded by attacking the counter-demonstrators and driving them from their position. In the ensuing melee, “sticks and umbrellas were freely used, and many heads were cracked.” Since the authorities were able to restrict the rioting to the campus, the police didn’t make any arrests.^[3]

7 Insulting a Woman’s Feet

The April 26, 1913, issue of The Day Book seems to delight in reporting a riot that occurred in the Windy City. When a male streetcar passenger “stumbled over” a young woman’s feet just after midnight, he added injury to insult. By voicing the unflattering observation that the woman’s shoes were outsized, he caused a riot.

The damsel in distress was aided by a knight in shining armor in the form of 20-year-old Walter Jones, newly arrived in Chicago, he said, from Kentucky. Jones’s altercation with the cad spilled over, becoming “a general mix-up” with the other passengers, many of whom “tried to jump from the crowded car.” After police quelled the riot, the woman’s protector and an 18-year-old youth were taken into custody, but the valiant “Jones was released after telling his story.”^[4]

6 Failure to Resign

A Tuesday, November 14, 1912, report in The Day Book advises the newspaper’s readers that James Lowther, the Speaker of the House of Commons, ordered the grand body’s adjournment until the following Monday. Members needed a cooling-off period, he believed, after the November 13 riot in which they’d engaged. In doing so, the speaker “severely rebuked” Prime Minister Asquith. It was he, Lowther stated, who had precipitated the violence by his having refused to resign following the government’s “defeat…on the home rule bill.”

During the riot, such “missiles [as] papers, books, [and] hats” were thrown about the chamber with wild abandon, one such projectile “blackening…[First Lord of the Admiralty Winston] Churchill’s eyes and scratching one side of his face.” The rain of missiles was accompanied by cries of “traitors, grinning apes, and other pet names” calculated to hurt the feelings of targeted individuals who did not succumb to the more tangible objects with which they were pelted.^[5]

5 Poor Streetcar Service

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

A streetcar was the scene of another riot as well. This one occurred at Wilmerding, Pennsylvania, fifteen miles from Pittsburgh, according to The State-Line Herald’s November 5, 1909, edition. After “1,000 Westinghouse employees completely wrecked the cars of the Pittsburg [sic] Street railway company running between Pittsburgh and East Keesport, about twenty persons,” half of whom were women, were injured. The Westinghouse employees’ actions notwithstanding, the article’s headline blames “mad patrons” for wrecking the cars.

Apparently, some riders disagreed with the street railway commission’s prohibition of passengers’ riding on the front platform when no standing room remained in the car. As a result of the riot, “several cars were badly wrecked,” service was stalled for an hour, and two police officers were “badly hurt by flying stones.”^[6]

4 Silk Hat

One of the more cockamamie causes of riots has to be the silk hat that occasioned a 1797 riot in London. Apparently, John Hetherington, the proprietor of a Strand haberdashery shop, was proud of his silk hat or, perhaps, of its size. The hat was so huge that it actually terrified some passersby. The September 25, 1913, edition of The Wahpeton Times reported that it attracted “a mob of such proportions that Hetherington was arrested and charged before the lord mayor with inciting a riot.”

The arresting constable testified that Hetherington had had the audacity to wear the offending headgear, “a tall structure he called a silk hat, having a shiny luster and calculated to frighten timid people.” As a result of this outrage, women fainted, children screamed, and dogs yelped. Cordwainer Thomas’s young son received the worst of it. Having been “thrown down by the crowd,” the lad broke his right arm.

In defense of himself, the mad hatter decreed that, as an Englishman, he had the right “to wear any hat he chose.” Despite his contention, the haberdasher was “bound over in $2,500 to keep the peace.”^[7]

3 Slouched Hat

In recounting an event that almost ended in mayhem, the St. John’s Caledonian newspaper of October 23, 1896, describes how, in the Netherlands, nobles, following the example of their king, who had donned his hat after his address to the states-general, likewise put on their own hats. When commoners, who lacked their privilege, did the same, the nobles objected. A near-riot threatened to break out until the resourceful king made the dispute irrelevant by again removing his hat, causing both groups to follow suit. Thanks to the king’s quick thinking, wholesale violence had been averted between the two groups.

Twenty years earlier, the Spanish had not been as fortunate. King Charles III thought that the “flopping brims” of his peasants’ slouch hats, like the streets of Madrid, looked untidy. To solve both problems, Charles decreed that all brims must be pinned up and that all homeowners must “clean the street opposite his premises.” The good residents of the nation’s capital were okay with the street cleaning but incensed about the hat brim decree and took up arms, rioting for a week, except from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m., when the rioters and the Spanish soldiers opposing them took time out for a siesta.

The riots continued, and Charles was terrified. He abandoned Madrid and considered making Seville the new capital of Spain. Dissuaded from this proposal by his ministers, he decided it was best to compromise with his stubborn, valiant subjects. Although, “within the walls of Madrid” itself, men must continue to pin up the floppy brims of their slouch hats, they could “let it slouch outside the city’s confines.” The rioting was finally over.^[8]

2 Stale Egg

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

As Benjamin Franklin noted, ultimately, “for want of a shoe…the kingdom was lost.” Thanks to a stale egg, a similar state of affairs happened in Portland, Oregon, according to an article in the December 11, 1917, edition of the Hopkinsville Kentuckian newspaper. While they were in the process of moving furniture, a pair of men were almost struck by the egg, which had been thrown at them by “a practical joker.”

Instead, the egg struck an upholstered chair. The sight of the “splash of yellow” that the missile left on the chair’s upholstery triggered the man who owned the furniture. Seizing an ax, he chased an innocent bystander, apparently mistaking him for the joker. The bystander grabbed a stick to defend himself, and the fierce fight broadened further, becoming general, as others in the vicinity pitched in, throwing bricks. The melee continued until two brave police officers armed with clubs used violence to end violence.^[9]

1 A Kiss

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

As Louis Armstrong and a host of other singers have sung in “As Time Goes By,” “a kiss is just a kiss”—at least until it sets off a riot. That’s just what happened in Rock Island, Illinois, the Rock Island Argus newspaper’s August 12, 1918, edition advises its readers. The city’s canteen committee had secured the presence of a police matron to make sure that women did not walk alongside a train carrying troops through the city and converse with the military men. In defiance of the prohibition and despite the presence of the police matron, a young man aboard the train leaped out of the window to kiss a petite woman—his friend—who was accompanied by another, larger woman.

When a female member of the canteen committee caught the smaller woman, her companion came to her assistance, pulling the canteen committee woman’s hair. A “free-for-all” fight then took place, constituting a small riot, until the matron and a police officer managed to quell the disturbance. Since nobody was keen on pressing charges, the women were allowed to leave, the matron instructing them to “go home.” Sometimes, it seems, a kiss is not “just a kiss,” after all.^[10]

Throughout so-called civilization, people have expressed their discontent in a number of ways. Whether spurred by the delusions of a mentally ill sociopath or merely reacting to the outcome of a sporting event, men and women of all stripes and hues continually prove that our species is doomed for extinction. 

Here’s proof…

10. The Cup Runneth Over

Games played between Glasgow-based soccer clubs Rangers and Celtic have a long, violent history, underscoring the intense rivalry between these two Scottish behemoths. Although riots have occurred with an alarming frequency since their first meeting in 1888, the 1909 Scottish Cup final stands out as one of the oddest.  

Deep political division, religious sectarianism, and barbaric tribal loyalty lie at the heart of “Old Firm” games. Historically, Rangers supporters are Protestant and Celtic backers are Roman Catholic — but none of that mattered when the two teams squared off at Glasgow’s Hampden Park on April 17, 1909.

Following a 2-2 draw the previous Saturday, the replay also ended in a deadlocked score, creating confusion among the 60,000 fans in attendance who expected the match to be played until a winner emerged. But when the referees signaled that the game was over, thus forcing another scheduled replay, thousands of enraged Scots spilled onto the pitch like a scene out of Braveheart.

Unruly mobs began destroying the stadium and lighting bonfires while clashing with the police and fire brigade. The rampage lasted for an astonishing two hours —an unprecedented act of hooliganism — even by British soccer standards. 

An eye-witness account later estimated 130 people were injured in the melee. Scottish officials declared the tournament over, marking the first time no trophy was handed out. 

9. Black Eye Friday

The annual pre-Christmas shopping extravaganza — better known as Black Friday — is that magical time of year when shoppers are rewarded with rock bottom low-prices while retailers aim to see their profits turn from “red” to “black.” This win-win scenario also foments unbridled chaos in which people risk life and limb in pursuit of cheap consumer goods.

Such was the case in 2011 at a Walmart in Little Rock, Arkansas, where bargain hunters went bat-guano crazy trying to nab a $2 waffle iron. Yes, you read that correctly: a waffle iron. While some things in life are worth dying for (love, justice, freedom, etc.), a gadget to make breakfast isn’t one of them. 

A viral video emerged showing dozens of people fighting and shrieking like hyenas over a limited supply of the two-portion maker. Walmart also sells a 4-waffle version with a substantially higher price tag, hence the mass hysteria surrounding the less expensive model. Sure, two bucks is a helluva deal for most appliances, but low-quality products are often made from inferior materials, resulting in breakage faster than you can ‘leggo of my eggo‘.

8. Boozeball

Baseball and beer go hand in hand. Not only have several brewery barons owned major league teams, but enjoying a cold one on a hot day at the ballpark is about as routine as the 4-6-3 double play. However, the lethal combination of suds and bad blood would lead to disastrous results at Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium. 

As crazy as it sounds now, “Ten Cent Beer Night“ used to be a fairly common promotion at live sporting events across America. Lousy teams were especially desperate to get people to the stadium by any means necessary, and beers for a dime usually did the trick. 

On June 4, 1974, the Cleveland Indians hosted the Texas Rangers, drawing a crowd of around 25,000 people. The liquored-up hometown crowd were especially rowdy because of a bench-clearing brawl that occurred a week earlier in Texas between the same two teams. The eagerly-awaited rematch would feature far more violence — and nudity. 

Early in the game, a woman ran out to the Indians’ on-deck circle and flashed her breasts, followed by a streaker dashing through the infield. Later, a father-and-son team ran onto the outfield and mooned the crowd. Several fans also targeted Rangers’ players, tossing projectiles, including bottles, firecrackers, and even broken pieces of the vintage wooden seats. 

Despite a late rally by the Indians in the bottom of the ninth to tie the score at 5-5, drunken revelers stormed the field hellbent on destruction. Players from both teams armed themselves with baseball bats to defend themselves before the umpires finally called the game, awarding Texas the win in a forfeit. Afterward, Rangers’ manager (and notorious brawler) Billy Martin told reporters, “That was the closest you’re ever going to be to seeing someone get killed in this game of baseball.”

7. Nylon Madness

The popularity of nylon stockings soared in the early 1940s as customers clamored for the lightweight, stretchy fashion accessory. But the popular trend came to an abrupt halt when several materials were rationed during WWII. Companies like Dupont, the inventor of nylon, transitioned to making items such as parachutes, glider tow ropes, mosquito netting, and hammocks. 

Meanwhile, women on the home front suffered. Some even resorted to using gravy browning, special lotions, and eyeliner in place of actual stockings. When the war finally ended, the production of nylons resumed as stores attempted to keep up with the frenzied demand. On June 12, 1946, a particularly nasty ruckus unfolded in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, making the Battle of Gettysburg look like a Sunday church picnic.  

A crowd of 40,000 women braved torrential rain and long lines stretching 16 blocks to buy a pair of the coveted hosiery from a small specialty shop. But when the retailer quickly sold out of all its inventory, all Hell broke loose.  

The following day, a report in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette described the action: “A good old fashioned hair-pulling, face-scratching fight broke out in the line shortly before midnight. Police had to swarm in and restore order…Some of the language used would have shocked a Boston fish-peddler.” 

6. Witchy Ways

Professional athletes are notoriously superstitious. So are their supporters. Time-honored traditions and rituals abound, such as crossing oneself, pointing to the heavens, or refusing to shave during a winning streak — all in hopes of gaining a winning edge. In 2008, a Congolese soccer player was accused of invoking witchcraft during a game, triggering a deadly riot in which 13 unlucky people were killed. 

The people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) hold a deeply rooted belief in occult forces, co-existing with Christianity and Islam faiths regardless of education, religion, and social class. In a match between rival clubs Nyuki System and Socozaki, players began brawling when the Nyuki goalkeeper allegedly attempted to cast a spell to sway the outcome. 

Supporters from both teams quickly joined the fray, prompting law enforcement to use tear gas. As spectators fled to escape, an ensuing stampede turned deadly. Adding to the misery, most of the victims were children between the age of 11 and 16. 

5. Did Nazi That Coming

On December 23, 1943, German POWs threw themselves a raucous party at Camp Papago, located just south of Phoenix, Arizona. An accordion loudly blared “Deutschland Uber Alles” as prisoners became increasingly drunk on homemade schnapps. Fearing a full-scale riot, the Camp Commander gave the order to “raise the club” and put down the rebellion. Unbeknownst to the guards, however, their response was exactly what the inmates had hoped for. 

The celebration served as part of an elaborate ruse to distract their American captors. Later that night, 25 prisoners, including several decorated Nazi naval officers, escaped through a secret tunnel and into the vast southwest desert. The breakout would trigger the largest manhunt in state history, involving the US Army, FBI, bounty hunters, and Native American scouts. 

The men had spent months digging underneath the barbed wire compound, working in shifts round-the-clock. The prisoners also stitched together civilian clothes and forged identification papers. Some of the more optimistic sailors even built a collapsible boat to use in case they reached a nearby river leading to the ocean. A geography lesson would have been more useful. 

The Germans would be caught or surrendered in only a few days, with the notable exception of Kapitan Jürgen Wattenberg, the highest-ranking officer at the camp. The former U-Boat commander managed to stay on the lam for 35 days before finally being nabbed by a local cop. 

4. White Riot

It’s hard not to love Chicago. The city’s colorful history, famous landmarks, and cultural diversity are all part of its unique charm. But the “Windy City” can also be a dangerous place, where the ghost of Al Capone still lingers, and simply ordering a hot dog can be a terrifying experience. In the late 1970s, some Chicagoans even rioted because of music.

Disco Demolition Night (also known as “Disco Sucks Night”) took place at Comiskey Park during a scheduled twi-night doubleheader between the hometown White Sox and the Detroit Tigers. The promotional event was conceived by Mike Veeck (the son of Sox owner, Bill Veeck), hoping to invigorate the recent lackluster attendance. The plan ultimately worked — only to backfire with severe consequences. 

Veeck hired a local radio DJ named Steve Dahl to serve as the master of ceremonies. The schlubby, proto shock jock had been leading an on-air campaign against disco music, a wildly popular genre at the time largely associated with Black, Latino, and gay culture. Fans were admitted to the game for only 98 cents (the station’s frequency was 97.9) if they brought a disco album, which would be blown up “reeeeeal goooood” between games.

An estimated crowd of over 50,000 people showed up (mostly young white males), many of whom began launching discs like frisbees from the stands. Although the Tigers won the first game 4-1, the majority of attendees couldn’t have cared less. They wanted bedlam — and that’s just what they got. 

Shortly after Dahl detonated a bin full of records, hundreds of people invaded the field, easily overwhelming the meager stadium security. The playing surface became so badly damaged that the second game had to be forfeited to Detroit. The police were eventually able to subdue the rioters, but the repercussions would have a far-reaching impact. 

Political journalist Mark W. Anderson, who attended the event, later wrote: “The chance to yell ‘disco sucks’ meant more than simply a musical style choice…it was a chance for a whole lot of people to say they didn’t like the way the world was changing around them, or who they saw as the potential victors in a cultural and demographic war.” 

3. Say Cheese

The annual Goose Fair in Nottingham, England, is one of the oldest (and biggest) festivals in Europe. Rooted in the Feast of St. Matthew and dating back more than 1,000 years, “Goosey” is typically held in the Fall except for periods involving bubonic plague, two World Wars, and the current COVID-19 pandemic.

The fair became a popular marketplace for geese and other livestock and also enjoyed a reputation for its high-quality cheese. In 1764 an increase in prices led to anarchy as irate customers ransacked vendor stalls and rolled large wheels of cheese down sloped roads in the town center.

While attempting to intervene, the mayor of Nottingham was bowled over by runaway cheese much to the agitated crowd’s delight. Finally, the magistrates had to call out the Dragoons (mounted soldiers) stationed nearby to quell the disturbance.

2. Motown Meltdown

By the late 1980s, the Detroit Pistons had emerged as the most dominant team in the NBA. Dubbed “Bad Boys” for their aggressive style of play, the team featured standouts such as Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars , Bill Laimbeer, Dennis Rodman, and Rick Mahorn. The Pistons also mirrored the city’s tough, blue-collar reputation and high violent crime rate.

After defeating the Portland Trail Blazers to win the championship in 1990, Detroit successfully defended their title the following season. Spontaneous street parties quickly degenerated into a night of looting, fighting, destruction, and death. Four people (including three children) were killed when a crazed motorist plowed into a crowd celebrating on the city’s east side, and two other pedestrians later died in a separate hit-and-run incident.

Elsewhere, a man plummeted to his death after falling from the roof of an apartment building, and a teenager was killed by gunfire in a parking lot. Among the carnage, emergency vehicles were overturned, and cops were assaulted with bottles and rocks. 

Detroit fans would also make headlines in 2004 when another ugly brawl erupted — this time inside the arena. Spectators and players on the Pistons and Indiana Pacers took part in one of the largest fan-player incidents in American sports history in what became known as “Malice in The Palace.”

1. Lima Stadium Disaster

Bad calls in sports are a part of the game. Referees, after all, are only human. Whether by flag or whistle, divisive rulings usually balance out in the end as conveyed in the adage ‘you win some, you lose some.” Tragically, however, a disallowed goal in a game between Peru and Argentina resulted in the deadliest soccer riot in history.

Held at the Estadio Nacional in Lima, Peru in front of 53,000 spectators, the match served as a qualifier for the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Argentina held a 1-0 lead in the final minutes before Puru’s Kilo Lobaton appeared to have equalized for the home side. But when the goal was waved off because of a foul, two Peruvian supporters ran onto the pitch to confront the Uruguayan referee. Law enforcement officials quickly rushed in and began harshly beating the men. 

Infuriated fans launched bricks and other debris at the police, who counter-attacked with gunfire and a barrage of tear gas canisters into the crowd. A panicked stampede ensued as hundreds of spectators were crushed to death or died from asphyxiation while attempting to flee through the stadium’s locked gates. The bloodbath eventually claimed the lives of 328 people and injured another 500. 

Outside the stadium, at least 100 cars were stolen by thieves who took advantage of the deadly uproar. Additionally, 21 prisoners, some described as dangerous, escaped from a Lima prison. According to Jorge Salazar, a journalist, and professor who has written a book about the disaster, the tragedy reflected the societal divide and political turbulence at the time.  

“In Peru, people were talking for the first time about social justice. There were a lot of demonstrations, worker movements, and communist parties. The left was quite powerful, and there was a permanent clash between the police and the people.”