17 December / Today's 25 Events:
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192 years ago Tuesday 17th of December 1833
Foundling Kaspar Hauser aka The Wild Child dies of a stab wound suffered three days earlier at the age of 21 in Ansbach, Bayern, Germany.
On 14 December 1833 Hauser came home with a deep wound in his left breast. He said that he was lured to the Ansbach Hofgarten and that a stranger stabbed him there while giving him a bag. When policeman Herrlein searched the Hofgarten he found a small violet purse containing a pencilled note in 'Spiegelschrift' (mirror writing). The message read "Hauser wird es euch ganz genau erzählen können, wie ich aussehe, und wo her ich bin. Den Hauser die Mühe zu ersparen will ich es euch selber sagen, woher ich komme _ _ Ich komme von von _ _ _ der Baierischen Gränze _ _ Am Fluße _ _ _ _ _ Ich will euch sogar noch den Namen sagen: M. L. Ö." |
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148 years ago Monday 17th of December 1877
Chief executioner Jules-Henri Desfourneaux aka Monsieur de Paris is born in Bar-le-Duc, Lorraine, France.
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122 years ago Thursday 17th of December 1903
Writer Erskine Preston Caldwell is born in Moreland, Georgia, United States.
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116 years ago Friday 17th of December 1909
2nd King of Belgium Leopold II, originally Leopold Lodewijk Filips Maria Victor dies of a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 74 in Château de Laeken, Laeken, Brussel, Brabant, Belgium.
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111 years ago Thursday 17th of December 1914
Serial killer Raymond Martinez Fernandez aka The Lonely Hearts Killers (with Martha Beck) is born in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States.
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102 years ago Monday 17th of December 1923
Director of the Dresdner bank Jürgen Ponto is born in Bad Nauheim, Hessen, Germany.
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92 years ago Sunday 17th of December 1933
Victim of Harvey Glatman aka The Pin-Up Killer Ruth Rita Mercado aka Angela Rojas is born in Plattsburgh, New York, United States.
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83 years ago Thursday 17th of December 1942
Musician Paul Vaughn Butterfield is born in Chicago, Illinois, United States.
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82 years ago She Was Daughter MaryFriday 17th of December 1943
Member of the 'Manson Family' Mary Theresa Brunner aka Marioche aka Mother Mary is born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, United States.
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78 years ago He Didn't Perform the Post MortemWednesday 17th of December 1947
Pathologist Bernard Henry Spilsbury commits suicide by gassing at the age of 70 in University College, Bloomsbury, London, Greater London, United Kingdom.
Spilsbury was depressed over his finances and his declining health. |
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77 years ago Friday 17th of December 1948
Murderer Stephen McCoy is born in Houston, Texas, United States.
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67 years ago Wednesday 17th of December 1958
31-year-old Serial killer Harvey Murray Glatman aka The Pin-Up Killer is sentenced to death in San Diego, California, United States.
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64 years ago Sunday 17th of December 1961
Over 500 die in Gran Circus Norte-Americano fire in Gran Circus Norte-Americano, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The fire was arsoned by former employee Adilson Marcelino. |
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62 years ago Tuesday 17th of December 1963
Murderer Dennis John Whitty is executed by hanging by Robert Stewart at the age of 22 in Winchester Prison, Winchester, Hampshire, United Kingdom.
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62 years ago Tuesday 17th of December 1963
Murderer Russel Pascoe is executed by hanging by Harry Allen at the age of 23 in Horfield Prison, Bristol, South West England, United Kingdom.
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57 years ago Tuesday 17th of December 1968
12-year-old Child killer Mary Flora Bell aka Child of Hell is sentenced to detention for life for the murder of two children in Moot Hall, Castle Garth, Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland, United Kingdom.
Mary's accomplice Norma Bell was acquitted. |
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56 years ago Wednesday 17th of December 1969
44-year-old Wiener Aktionist Otto Muehl performs 'Materialaktion nr. 59 / Stille Nacht / Frohe Weihnacht' aka 'O Tannenbaum' in Hochschule für Bildende Künste, Johannes-Selenka-Platz 1, Braunschweig, Niedersachsen, Germany.
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46 years ago Monday 17th of December 1979
23-year-old Necrophiliac Karen Greenlee steals the 1975 Cadillac hearse she was driving to a funeral along with the body of a 33-year-old man to have sex with the corpse in Sacramento Memorial Lawn, 6100 Stockton Blvd, Sacramento, California, United States.
Greenlee was found days later near Alleghany in Sierra County. She had attempted to commit suicide by overdosing on about 20 pills of Tylenol and codeine but survived. |
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36 years ago Sunday 17th of December 1989
June Cicero is strangled and mutilated by serial killer Arthur Shawcross aka The Genesee River Killer in Salmon Creek, Rochester, New York, United States.
Cicero's body was discovered by aerial surveillance on 3 January 1990. |
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28 years ago Wednesday 17th of December 1997
72-year-old Wiener Aktionist Otto Muehl is released from prison after serving six years for sex and drug offences in Eisenstadt, Burgenland, Austria.
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21 years ago Friday 17th of December 2004
Pop artist Tom Wesselmann dies of complications after heart surgery at the age of 73 in University Medical Center, Manhattan, New York, New York, United States.
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15 years ago Friday 17th of December 2010
Singer-songwriter, musician and artist Don Van Vliet, originally Don Glen Vliet aka Captain Beefheart dies of complications from multiple sclerosis at the age of 69 in Arcata, California, United States.
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14 years ago Saturday 17th of December 2011
Second Supreme Leader of North Korea Jong-il Kim dies of a heart attack at the age of 70 in Pyongyang, P'yŏngan, North Korea.
It was reported in December 2012 by South Korean media that Jong-ilhad died in a fit of rage over construction faults in a crucial power plant project at Huichon in Jagang Province. |
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12 years ago Tuesday 17th of December 2013
Great Train Robber Ronnie Ronald Arthur Biggs dies of pneumonia at the age of 84 in Carlton Court Care Home, 112 Bells Hill, East Barnet, Greater London, United Kingdom.
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5 years ago Thursday 17th of December 2020
Serial killer Donato Bilancia aka Il Mostro della Liguria dies of COVID-19 at the age of 69 in Padua, Veneto, Italy.
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