1Doctors' riot
In 1788, there was a riot in New York City over physicians and medical students illegally robbing graves of African Americans for dissection at Colombia College. The practice is commonly known as "Body-Snatching."
2. Hong Kong had leftist riots in 1967. During the riots, leftist rioters placed over 1,000 bombs throughout the city. The riots did not end until Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai ordered the leftist groups in Hong Kong to stop all bombings.
3. The 1917 Bath Riots that occurred at the US-Mexican border were sparked by the practices of the US immigration service of using harmful chemicals, including gasoline, to disinfect people going through the borders.
4. The Crown Heights riot was a racial riot that took place in 1991 between blacks and Jews of the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York City. It was sparked by the death of a 7-year-old black boy named Gavin Cato who was run over by a Jewish driver.
5. Zoot Suit Riots were a series of anti-Mexican youth riots in Los Angeles that happened in 1943. The suits worn were seen as unpatriotic because of the amount of fabric used, and later became prohibited during World War 2 because of their wastefulness of cloth.
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6Rebecca Riots
During the ‘Rebecca Riots’ in 19th Century Wales, farmers would paint their faces and dress as women, calling themselves the ‘daughters’ of Rebecca (a biblical figure). They would riot, protest, and launch attacks against landowners and tollgates, ultimately succeeding in changing the law.
7. In 1832, a British magistrate decided to cull the stray dog population by placing a bounty on each dog killed for which the Parsi Community retaliated by closing off their businesses creating economic chaos in the city. This event came to be known as the Bombay dog riots. Parsis won when the British decided to relocate stray dogs.
8. During the Astor Place Riot of 1849, 22-31 people died and over 120 were injured. The riot started over a dispute whether an American or a British actor was the best Shakespearean actor.
9. In Halifax, Nova Scotia celebrations for the end of World War 2 descended into a 2-day riot as servicemen looted the city. A reporter compared the scene to "London after the Blitz". 65,000 quarts of liquor, 8000 cases of beer, and 1500 cases of wine were 'liberated'. 2 men died of alcohol poisoning.
10. In 1983, several riots broke out when people tried to buy Cabbage Patch Kids dolls, which were in high demand and low supply. Some people would attack others with handheld weapons such as baseball bats.
11Potato riot
In 1840, Russian Peasants rioted against attempts to make them grow potatoes, which they distrusted because potatoes were mentioned in the Bible.
12. In 1885, there was a riot in a Scottish churchyard when an old woman tried to give her cat a "Christian burial."
13. During the Stonewall Riots of 1969, the gay rioters responded to the arrival of the tactical riot squad by forming Rockette style kick-lines, and shouting to the tune of Howdy Doody “We are the Stonewall girls/ We wear our hair in curls/ We don't wear underwear/ We show our pubic hairs.”
14. In Toronto, 1933, an amateur baseball game broke out into a massive race riot when a group of Nazi sympathizers, protesting the Jewish players, unveiled a crude Swastika flag. "A crowd of more than 10,000 citizens, excited by cries of 'Heil Hitler' became suddenly a disorderly mob."
15. The New York City Police Riot of 1857 was a battle between the recently dissolved Municipal Police and the newly formed Metropolitan Police. Municipals fought Metropolitans attempting to arrest the corrupt Mayor Wood. The situation later required the intervention of the New York State Militia.
16Southern Bread Riots
The Southern Bread Riots started as protests mostly by women who were protesting huge surges in food costs during the Civil War. The protests culminated into riots in Richmond, Virginia with chants of “bread or blood!” Food prices had soared to prices ten times higher than normal in many instances. Among the items stolen were 500 lbs of bacon.
17. The cast and crew of Borat nearly started a riot during the filming of the rodeo scene where Borat sings the (made up) Kazakhstan National Anthem to the tune of the American national anthem.
18. On Christmas Day 1826, cadets at the US Military Academy at West Point including future Confederacy President Jefferson Davis threw a booze-fueled party, which eventually led to a mutiny that ended with 20 court-martials. It was known as the “Eggnog Riot.”
19. The Watermelon War was a riot in Panama City (1856) which started because a drunken American wouldn't pay 5 cents for a slice of watermelon. It led to the death of 15 Americans and 2 Panamanians.
20. In 1921, the largest race riot in US history, the Tulsa riots, completely wiped out one of the wealthiest African-American communities in the country. The incident started and snowballed after a black man accidentally stepped on the foot of a white woman.
21Straw Hat riot
In 1922, people rioted over whether it was okay or not to wear a straw hat past the "socially acceptable" date of September 15, in New York. The riot lasted 8 days and led to multiple arrests.
22. During the Harlem Riot of March 19, 1935, 3 people died and $2 million worth of property was damaged. It started over a complete misunderstanding about something that never happened.
23. Battle of Brisbane was a 2-night riot between the US military and Aussie military and civilians. Afterward, US Sergeant Bill Bentson said: “It sort of settled down & you go into a pub & an Aussie would come & up & slap me on the back. ‘Oh, wasn't that a good ruckus we had the other night? Have a beer on me.’”
24. In 532 A.D. 30,000 rioters were killed and half of Constantinople was destroyed in the Nika Riots, over a conflict with chariot racing.
25. In 2013, 3000 workers at a garment factory in Gazipur, Bangladesh went on strike, some even rioting, not for better pay or working conditions, but because they wanted something to be done about the ghost inhabiting the bathroom.
