| It
was on this day... | 1885
Supernatural Gallows Malfunction Saves Convicted Man's Life
| Exeter,
England: John Lee, 19, convicted of murdering his rich employer, was sentenced
to the gallows, a charge he denied. But when the noose was put around his neck,
and the level was pulled, the trap doors failed to open. Engineers
repeatedly checked the gallows for the reason of the malfunction but failed to
find anything wrong with it. Lee
was then put back in the gallows, but the door failed to open again. This happened
once more and the executioners moved to give him a reprieve. His sentence was
commuted to 22 years in jail. |
| It
was on this day... | 1861
Abraham Lincoln Escapes Assassination Attempt | Hearing
of the plans for an assassination plot at an engagement in Baltimore, president
elect Abraham Lincoln eventually is persuaded to proceed on to Washington. On
this day he and his entourage arrive at the Willard Hotel, Washington DC. Lincoln
became president on the eve of the civil war, with pro-slavery forces keen to
kill the abolitionist president. |
E-mail
this page to a friend | | Birthdays | 1955 |
Howard Jones | 1951 |
Patricia Richardson | 1938 |
Peter Fonda | 1685 |
George Frederic Handel |
| | Source |
| Other
News | 1940
Walt Disney's animated motion picture Pinocchio, is released. 1972
All 172 hostages are freed by Lufthansa hijackers 1981
Rebel army seizes control in Spain 1997
Schindlers List, Steven Spielberg's somber tale of Nazi Concentration Camp horrors,
becomes the first movie to be shown on US Commercial TV without a commercial break. |
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