41st year - Nr 297 Saturday, 24 October 2026

BIRTH(+)FACT(᙮)DEATH(-)
41st year - Nr 297 Saturday, 24 October 2026

24 October / Today's 36 Events:

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(-) 489 years ago Sunday 24th of October 1537 Third wife of Henry VIII Jane Seymour dies of puerperal fever at the age of 29 in Hampton Court Palace, Richmond upon Thames, Surrey, United Kingdom. Seymour contracted a bacterial infection during the birth of the future King Edward VI or by a tear in her perineum which became infected.

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(+) 123 years ago Saturday 24th of October 1903 FBI Special Agent Melvin Horace Purvis aka Little Mel is born in Timmonsville, South Carolina, United States.

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(+) 111 years ago Sunday 24th of October 1915 Comic book artist Bob Kane, originally Robert Kahn known for Batman is born in New York City, New York, United States.

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(-) 108 years ago Thursday 24th of October 1918 Hotelier César Ritz dies of unknown causes at the age of 68 in Küssnacht, Schwyz, Switzerland.

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(+) 101 years ago Saturday 24th of October 1925 Composer Luciano Berio is born in Oneglia, Liguria, Italy.

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(x) 100 years ago Sunday 24th of October 1926 52-year-old Illusionist, magician and escapologist Harry Houdini, originally Erik Weisz aka The Handcuff King performs his last magic performance show in Garrick Theatre, Griswold Street, Detroit, Michigan, United States. When Houdini arrived at the Garrick Theater for what would be his last performance, he had a fever of 40° C. Despite the diagnosis of acute appendicitis Houdini took the stage. He was reported to have passed out during the show but was revived and continued. After the show he was hospitalized at Detroit's Grace Hospital.

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(+) 99 years ago Il Était Baby 10 Volts Monday 24th of October 1927 Singer and actor Gilbert Bécaud, originally François Gilbert Léopold Silly aka Monsieur 100.000 Volts is born in Toulon, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France.

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(+) 96 years ago Friday 24th of October 1930 Musician, singer and songwriter Jiles Perry Richardson aka The Big Bopper is born in Sabine Pass, Texas, United States.

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(+) 93 years ago Tuesday 24th of October 1933 Gangster Ronald Kray aka Ronnie Kray is born in 64 Stean Street, Hoxton, London, East London, United Kingdom. Ronnie was born about ten minutes after his identical twin brother Reggie.

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(+) 93 years ago Tuesday 24th of October 1933 Gangster Reginald Kray aka Reggie Kray is born in 64 Stean Street, Hoxton, London, East London, United Kingdom.

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(-) 91 years ago Thursday 24th of October 1935 Mobster Arthur Flegenheimer aka Dutch Schultz dies of peritonitis at the age of 34 in Newark City Hospital, Newark, New Jersey, United States. Flegenheimer was shot by Charley 'The Bug' Workman 22 hours earlier at the Palace Chop House. His famous last words, induced by high fever and morphine were recorded by a stenographer and inspired a number of writers including William S. Burroughs.

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(+) 91 years ago Thursday 24th of October 1935 Serial killer Frans Hooijmaijers aka Dikke Frans De Spuitreus is born in Kerkrade, Limburg, Netherlands.

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(x) 87 years ago Tuesday 24th of October 1939 34-year-old Murderess Winnie Ruth Judd aka The Trunk Murderess escapes in Arizona State Hospital, 2500 E. Van Buren, Phoenix, Arizona, United States. Judd returned voluntarily six days later after visiting her ill mother.

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(-) 82 years ago Tuesday 24th of October 1944 Automobile manufacturing pioneer Louis Renault dies due to mistreatment in Fresnes Prison while accused of collaboration at the age of 67 in Clinique Saint-Jean de Dieu, 19 Rue Oudinot, VIIe, Paris, Île-de-France, France.

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(+) 81 years ago Wednesday 24th of October 1945 Member of the Rote Armee Fraktion and Sozialistisches Patientenkollektiv Hanna Elise Krabbe known from Kommando Holger Meins is born in Bad Bentheim, Niedersachsen, Germany.

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(-) 78 years ago Sunday 24th of October 1948 Composer Franz Lehár known for his operetta Die Lustige Witwe dies of natural causes at the age of 78 in Bad Ischl, Oberösterreich, Austria.

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(+) 77 years ago Monday 24th of October 1949 Serial killer Robert William 'Willie' Pickton aka The Pig Farmer Killer is born in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada.

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(+) 75 years ago Wednesday 24th of October 1951 Black art student and music fan Meredith Curly Hunter aka Murdock is born in Alameda County, California, United States.

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(x) 73 years ago Saturday 24th of October 1953 19-year-old Serial killer Juan Vallejo Corona aka The Machete Murderer marries Gabriella E. Hermosillo in Reno, Nevada, United States. In 1959 Corona married Gloria I. Moreno.

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(+) 71 years ago Monday 24th of October 1955 Double murderer Jose Jesus Ceja is born in Maricopa, Arizona, United States.

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(-) 69 years ago His Heart Skipped a Beat Thursday 24th of October 1957 Fashion designer Christian Dior dies of a heart attack at the age of 52 in Montecatini Terme, Toscana, Italy. Some reports say that Dior died of a heart attack after choking on a fish bone. Time's obituary stated that he died of a heart attack after playing a game of cards. However, the Paris socialite Baron de Redé wrote in his memoirs that contemporary rumor was that Dior's heart attack had been caused by a strenuous sexual encounter with two young men.

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(-) 68 years ago Friday 24th of October 1958 Double murderer Bart Luis Caritativo is executed by the gas chamber at the age of 52 in San Quentin State Prison, San Quentin, California, United States.

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(x) 66 years ago Monday 24th of October 1960 Over 120 skilled technicians and scientists die in ICBM R-16 rocket missile explosion in Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 41, Baykonur, Kazakhstan. As a prototype of the missile was being prepared for a test flight, an explosion occurred when second stage engines ignited accidentally while it was still on the launchpad. Despite the magnitude of the disaster, news of it was suppressed for many years and the Soviet government did not acknowledge the event until 1989.

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(x) 64 years ago Wednesday 24th of October 1962 37-year-old Stand-up comedian, social critic and satirist Lenny Bruce, originally Leonard Alfred Schneider is arrested for obscenity in The Troubadour, 9081 Santa Monica Boulevard, Hollywood, California, United States. The specification was that Bruce had used the word schmuck, an insulting Yiddish term that is an obscene word for penis.

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(+) 59 years ago Tuesday 24th of October 1967 Heavy Metal fan Raymond Eugene Belknap is born in Reno, Nevada, United States.

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(-) 54 years ago Tuesday 24th of October 1972 Mary Margaret Guilfoyle is stabbed to death by serial killer Herbert Mullin aka The Hippie Killer in Empire Grade, Santa Cruz, California, United States. Mullin then dissected Guilfoyle's body and scattered her remains alongside a hillside road.

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(x) 45 years ago Saturday 24th of October 1981 Noise music band Club Moral play their third concert in Autonomia, Triomflaan, Brussel, Brabant, Belgium.

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(x) 43 years ago Monday 24th of October 1983 Start of the trial against 38-year-old Serial killer Dennis Andrew Nilsen aka Killing For Company in Old Bailey Criminal Court, London, Greater London, United Kingdom.

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(-) 35 years ago Thursday 24th of October 1991 Television screenwriter and producer Gene Eugene Wesley Roddenberry known for the TV series Star Trek dies of cardiopulmonary arrest at the age of 70 in Santa Monica, California, United States. In the late 1980s Roddenberry was afflicted by the first manifestations of cerebral vascular disease and encephalopathy as a result of his longstanding recreational abuse of legal and illicit drugs, including alcohol, marijuana, Valium, Seconal, Ritalin, Dexamyl, and cocaine. The effects of these substances were compounded by deleterious interactions with diabetes, high blood pressure, and antidepressant prescriptions. On 21 April 1997 a Celestis spacecraft carrying portions of the cremated remains of Roddenberry, of Timothy Leary and of 22 other people was launched into Earth orbit aboard a Pegasus XL rocket from near the Canary Islands. On 20 May 2002 the spacecraft's orbit deteriorated and it disintegrated in the atmosphere.

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(-) 30 years ago Thursday 24th of October 1996 Olga Galtseva is abducted, sexually assaulted and tortured by serial killer, child rapist and cannibal Alexander Spesivtsev aka The Siberian Tiger in Novokuznetsk, Kemerovo Oblast, Russia. Galtseva was forced to eat soup made out of her friend. She died a day after being discovered. Also found were the mutilated bodies of 13-year-old Yevgenia Barashkina and 13-year-old Anastasia Burnayeva who had been missing for over a month. In all, the clothing, shoes and personal possessions of over 80 children were found in Spesivtsev's apartment. His mother Ludmila lured some of the children into their apartment under different pretenses and helped with the disposal of the re mains of the victims.

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(-) 29 years ago Friday 24th of October 1997 Maurizio Parenti is killed by serial killer Donato Bilancia aka Il Mostro della Liguria in Genova, Liguria, Italy.

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(x) 24 years ago Thursday 24th of October 2002 42-year-old Serial killer John Allen Muhammad, originally John Allen Williams aka The Beltway Sniper and his 17-year-old accomplice Lee Boyd Malvo are arrested in Myersville, Maryland, United States. Muhammad's blue 1990 Chevrolet Caprice, a former police car, was spotted parked in an Interstate 70 rest stop.

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23 years ago The Eyes had it Friday 24th of October 2003 Whitehouse performing in Brussel, Brabant, Belgium.

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(x) 22 years ago Sunday 24th of October 2004 Noise music band Club Moral play their 107th concert as Coda of the La Belgique 666 Points festival in Ancienne Belgique, Boulevard Anspach 110, Brussel, Brabant, Belgium.

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(-) 20 years ago He Was Tuesday 24th of October 2006 Self-proclaimed prophet and cult leader Jeffrey Don Lundgren aka The Volunteer is executed by lethal injection at the age of 56 in Southern Ohio Correctional Facility, Lucasville, Ohio, United States. Lucas' final meal was turkey, potatoes and gravy, a salad and pumpkin pie. "For my last words I'd like to profess my love for God, my family, my children and my beloved wife. ... I am because you are."

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9 years ago The Eyes had it Tuesday 24th of October 2017 Recording an episode of 'De Ideale Wereld' with AMVK and Otto-Jan Ham in Studio De Ideale Wereld, Harensesteenweg 228, Vilvoorde, Vlaams-Brabant, Belgium.

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