January 2, 1953 London, England John James Alcott (22) is hanged for murder Alcott had nearly been executed a few years before his hanging. In 1949, at the age of 17, Alcott was in the Army and stationed in Germany. He claimed he was traveling with another man when the pair came across a lodging… Continue reading Man who avoided execution once is hanged for murder
Tag: 1950s
Woman struck by meteorite piece, the only documented case of a human being hit by space debris
November 30, 1954 Oak Grove, Alabama A piece of a meteorite hits Ann Elizabeth Fowler Hodges, leaving a large bruise The fragment crashed through Hodges’ farmhouse roof, bounced off a console radio, and struck Hodges in the thigh as she was sleeping on a couch. Though bruised, Hodges was not seriously wounded by the fragment,… Continue reading Woman struck by meteorite piece, the only documented case of a human being hit by space debris
The Clutter Family Murders, the inspiration behind the novel In Cold Blood
November 15, 1959 Holcomb, Kansas Richard “Dick” Hickock and Perry Smith break into the Clutter home and kill the family’s mother, father, and two teenaged children Hickock and Smith had been serving time for unrelated offenses when they heard from a fellow inmate, former Clutter farmhand Floyd Wells, that Herb Clutter had a safe filled… Continue reading The Clutter Family Murders, the inspiration behind the novel In Cold Blood
Man plants bomb in mother’s luggage to kill her and collect insurance money
November 1, 1955 Near Longport, Colorado A bomb on United Airlines Flight 629 explodes, planted by Jack Gilbert Graham in an effort to kill his mother for insurance money Graham had taken out a $37,000 air flight insurance policy out on his mother Daisie E. King shortly before her flight took off. Eleven minutes after… Continue reading Man plants bomb in mother’s luggage to kill her and collect insurance money
Teen shoots sister after an argument over who would sit in armchair
October 24, 1959 Ann Arbor, Michigan James Vogel shoots and kills his sister Gwendolyn after an argument regarding who would sit in an armchair James (17) got in an argument Gwendolyn (14) over who would sit in an armchair as they watched television. After the argument, James grabbed a bolt-action single shot shotgun. His mother… Continue reading Teen shoots sister after an argument over who would sit in armchair
