41st year - Nr 136 Saturday, 16 May 2026

BIRTH(+)FACT(᙮)DEATH(-)
41st year - Nr 136 Saturday, 16 May 2026

16 May / Today's 35 Events:

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(+) 415 years ago Monday 16th of May 1611 Innocentius XI, originally Benedetto Odescalchi aka The Blessed is born in Como, Lombardia, Italy.

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(+) 241 years ago Monday 16th of May 1785 Child killer Caleb Adams is born in Leyden, Massachusetts, United States.

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(x) 190 years ago Monday 16th of May 1836 Writer of mystery and the macabre Edgar Allan Poe is born in Richmond, Virginia, United States. Clemm was Poe's cousin. They were married by a Presbyterian minister named Rev. Amasa Converse.

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(+) 165 years ago Thursday 16th of May 1861 Serial killer Henry Howard Holmes, originally Herman Webster Mudgett aka The Torture Doctor is born in Gilmantown, New Hampshire, United States.

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(+) 149 years ago Wednesday 16th of May 1877 Pathologist Bernard Henry Spilsbury is born in 35 Bath Street, Royal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, United Kingdom.

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(-) 148 years ago Thursday 16th of May 1878 Serial poisoner Lydia Sherman aka The Derby Poisoner dies of cancer at the age of 54 in Wethersfield State Prison, Wethersfield, Connecticut, United States. Sherman poisoned eight children in her care (6 of which were her own) and her three husbands

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(+) 121 years ago Tuesday 16th of May 1905 Actor Henry Jaynes Fonda is born in Grand Island, Nebraska, United States.

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(+) 111 years ago Sunday 16th of May 1915 Film director Mario Monicelli is born in Rome, Lazio, Italy.

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(+) 107 years ago Friday 16th of May 1919 Pianist and entertainer Liberace, originally Władziu Valentino Liberace aka The Glitter Man aka The King of Bling is born in West Allis, Wisconsin, United States.

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(+) 106 years ago Sunday 16th of May 1920 Actress Martine Carol, originally Marie-Louise Jeanne Nicolle Mourer is born in Saint Mandé, Val-de-Marne, France.

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(x) 106 years ago Sunday 16th of May 1920 508-year-old Heroine Jeanne d'Arc aka La Pucelle d'Orléans is canonised Saint by Pope Benedict XV in Basilica di San Pietro, Rome, Lazio, Italy.

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(+) 101 years ago Saturday 16th of May 1925 Entertainer, entrepreneur, singer-songwriter and professional whistler Bobbejaan Schoepen, originally Modest Schoepen is born in Boom, Antwerpen, Belgium.

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(+) 96 years ago Friday 16th of May 1930 Physicist and research manager Karl Heinz Beckurtz is born in Rheydt, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany.

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(x) 96 years ago Friday 16th of May 1930 Gertrud Bell is attacked by serial killer Peter Kürten aka The Vampire of Düsseldorf in Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. Kürten reasoned that she had not attempted to fight him, and because she could not remember where he lived, he took her to the train station and walked away. The woman wrote a letter to a friend to tell her of the horrible incident, but since it was undeliverable, the letter was opened by a postal worker. The police were notified immediately. They questioned the young woman and then she led them to Kurten’s home, and then he was arrested on 24 May 1930.

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(-) 88 years ago Monday 16th of May 1938 Actor Jack Virgil Dougherty commits suicide carbon monoxide poisoning at the age of 43 in Hollywood, California, United States.

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(-) 82 years ago it Was the Cain and Abel Aspect of the Case Tuesday 16th of May 1944 Henry Gein is presumably beaten to death and thrown into a fire by his brother 38-year-old Murderer and body snatcher Ed Edward Theodore Gein aka America’s Most Bizarre Murderer in Plainfield, Wisconsin, United States. Henry and Ed were burning away marsh vegetation on the property. The fire got out of control and Henry was found afterwards. It appeared that the cause of death was heart failure, but later it was reported that Henry had bruises on his head.

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(+) 75 years ago Wednesday 16th of May 1951 Singer-songwriter Jonathan Michael Richman known from The Modern Lovers is born in Natick, Massachusetts, United States.

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(-) 69 years ago Thursday 16th of May 1957 American Prohibition agent Eliot Ness known for his legendary team of law enforcement agents nicknamed The Untouchables dies of a heart attack at the age of 54 in Coudersport, Pennsylvania, United States. In one popular yet false anecdote Ness died just as he was about to have the first alcoholic drink of his life.

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(x) 62 years ago Saturday 16th of May 1964 39-year-old Wiener Aktionist Otto Muehl performs 'Materialaktion nr. 8 / Stillleben' in Perinetkeller, Perinetgasse 1, Wien, Wien, Austria.

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(+) 60 years ago Monday 16th of May 1966 Singer-songwriter Janet Damita Jo Jackson is born in 2300 Jackson Street, Gary, Indiana, United States.

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(-) 53 years ago Wednesday 16th of May 1973 Artist Jacques Lipchitz, originally Chaim Jacob Lipschitz dies of unknown causes at the age of 82 in Capri, Campania, Italy.

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(+) 51 years ago Friday 16th of May 1975 9/11 terrorist Khalid Muhammad Abdallah al-Mihdhar is born in Mecca, Makkah l-Mukarramah, Saudi Arabia.

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(-) 51 years ago Friday 16th of May 1975 Revolutionary black activist Michael X, originally Michael de Freitas aka Abdul Malik is executed by hanging at the age of 42 in Royal Jail, 103A Frederick Street, Port-of-Spain, Metropolitan Area, Trinidad.

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(x) 51 years ago Friday 16th of May 1975 36-year-old Mountaineer Junko Tabei known for becoming the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest becomes the first woman to reach the summit in Mount Everest, Sagarmatha, Nepal.

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(-) 48 years ago Tuesday 16th of May 1978 Vera Evelyn Millward aka Anne Brown aka Mary Barton is hammered and stabbed to death by serial killer Peter Sutcliffe aka The Yorkshire Ripper in Manchester Royal Infirmary, Manchester, Greater Manchester, United Kingdom.

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(-) 42 years ago Wednesday 16th of May 1984 Writer and playwright Irwin Shaw, originally Irwin Gilbert Shamforoff dies of prostate cancer at the age of 71 in Davos, Graubünden, Switzerland.

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(-) 36 years ago He Had no Smoker's Delight Wednesday 16th of May 1990 Actor, singer and entertainer Sammy Samuel George Davis Jr. dies of throat cancer at the age of 65 in Beverly Hills, California, United States. Davis often smoked four packs of cigarettes a day as an adult. When told that laryngectomy offered him the best chance of survival Davis replied he would rather keep his voice than have a part of his throat removed; he subsequently was treated with a combination of chemotherapy and radiation. His entire larynx however was ultimately removed during surgery in March 1990.

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(-) 36 years ago Wednesday 16th of May 1990 Dag Drollet is shot dead by 32-year-old Only child of actor Marlon Brando and Anna Kashfi Christian Devi Brando at the age of 26 in 12900 Mulholland Drive, Hollywood Hills, California, United States. Drollet was engaged to Brando's pregnant half-sister Cheyenne.

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(-) 36 years ago Wednesday 16th of May 1990 Puppeteer, cartoonist, screenwriter and film director Jim James Maury Henson known for creating The Muppets dies of organ dysfunction resulting from streptococcal toxic shock syndrome caused by Streptococcus pyogenes at the age of 54 in New York Hospital, New York City, New York, United States.

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(-) 34 years ago Saturday 16th of May 1992 Astrologer Howard Sasportas dies of AIDS at the age of 44 in London, Greater London, United Kingdom.

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(-) 29 years ago Friday 16th of May 1997 Double murderer Harry Charles Moore is executed by lethal injection at the age of 56 in Oregon State Penitentiary, Salem, Oregon, United States. Moore's last meal request was for two green apples, two red apples, a tray of fresh fruit, and two 2-liter bottles of Coke.

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(-) 29 years ago Friday 16th of May 1997 Murderer Clifton Eugene Belyeu is executed by lethal injection at the age of 39 in Huntsville Prison, 815 12th Street, Huntsville, Texas, United States. Belyeu’s last meal request was for a cheeseburger, French fries, Coke and a pack of cigarettes, which were prohibited by policy.

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(-) 24 years ago Thursday 16th of May 2002 Child killer Ronford Lee Styron is executed by lethal injection at the age of 33 in Huntsville Prison, 815 12th Street, Huntsville, Texas, United States. Styron's 11-month-old son Lee Hollace died as a result of subdural hemorrhaging due to trauma to the head. The fatal injuries were the culmination of a long pattern of abusive behavior, including punching him in the face, dunking him in ice water, squeezing him hard enough to break his ribs, and shaking him hard enough to cause retinal hemorrhages. The victim's older injuries included at least 10 broken bones. Styron also stuffed tape into the child's mouth to quiet him and palmed the child's head like a basketball, thus dangling the child like a puppet. Sty ron's last meal request was for a Mexican platter with all the works, two classic Cokes, pickles, olives, and Cookies and Cream ice cream.

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(-) 19 years ago Wednesday 16th of May 2007 Cop killer Charles Edward Smith is executed by lethal injection at the age of 41 in Huntsville Prison, 815 12th Street, Huntsville, Texas, United States.

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19 years ago The Eyes had it Wednesday 16th of May 2007 Preparing for a performance in Finland by filling a wooden box with earth from my Hole in Antwerpen, Antwerpen, Belgium.

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