June 28, 1959 Meldrim, Georgia A train carrying a butane tank derails; the resulting explosion kills 23 The train was traveling on a trestle bridge over the Ogeechee River when it derailed. It plunged into the river and exploded, killing and injuring swimmers and fishermen. According to the Associated Press, “A house a city block…
Jayne Mansfield’s fatal car crash
June 29, 1967 New Orleans, Louisiana Actress Jayne Mansfield, attorney Sam Brody, and driver Ronnie Harrison are killed in a car accident The trio of adults were driving with three of Mansfield’s children, including future Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star Mariska Hargitay. The children were asleep in the car’s backseat at the time…
FLW: electricity in his head
Famous Last Words Benjamin Snell Washington, DC June 29, 1900 "Oh, I'll smother with that on. I've got electricity in my head now." Benjamin Snell stood at 6'6" and weighed in at over 300 lbs. He had been convicted of killing Lizzie Weisenberger, a 13-year-old neighbor whom he had hired as a live-in friend for…
The assassination of Mohamed Boudiaf, televised live
June 29, 1992 Annaba, Algeria Algerian High Council of State Mohamed Boudiaf (محمد بوضياف) is assassinated on live television by his bodyguard Boudiaf had tried to destroy the Islamic State by instituting a constitutional alternative. While Boudiaf was giving a speech on live television, a grenade was thrown near Boudiaf to draw his attention as…
