26 July
United States Attorney General Charles Joseph Bonaparte issues an order to immediately staff the Office of the Chief Examiner (later renamed the Federal Bureau of Investigation).
Continue reading “1908 – The ‘birth’of what would become the FBI”
22 July
The Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937 or “court-packing plan” was a legislative initiative proposed by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt to add more justices to the U.S. Supreme Court. Roosevelt’s purpose was to obtain favourable rulings regarding New Deal legislation that the court had ruled unconstitutional. Continue reading “1937 – FDR’s court-packing plan”
15 June
On this day in 1215, King John of England puts his seal to the Magna Carta Libertatum (commonly known as Magna Carta).
4 June
Emily Davison, a suffragette, runs out in front of King George V’s horse, Anmer, at the Epsom Derby. She is trampled, never regains consciousness and dies four days later.
2 May
Cree and Assiniboine warriors win the Battle of Cut Knife, their largest victory over Canadian forces during the North-West Rebellion.
7 April
The Corpus Iuris Civilis (“Body of Civil Law”) is the modern name for a collection of fundamental works in jurisprudence, issued from 529 to 534 by order of Justinian I, Eastern Roman Emperor. It is also sometimes referred to as the Code of Justinian, although this name belongs more properly to the part titled Codex Justinianus. Continue reading “529 – First draft of the Corpus Juris Civilis is issued”
4 April
Martin Luther King Jr. long opposed American involvement in the Vietnam War, but at first avoided the topic in public speeches in order to avoid the interference with civil rights goals that criticism of President Johnson’s policies might have created. However, at the urging of James Bevel, King eventually agreed to publicly oppose the war as opposition was growing among the American public. On this day in 1967, appearing at the New York City Riverside Church—exactly one year before his death—King delivered a speech titled “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence”. Continue reading “1967 – Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his “Beyond Vietnam …” speech”
7 January
The 143rd New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from 7 January to September 1920, during the second year of Al Smith’s governorship, in Albany. At this time there were two major political parties: the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. The Socialist Party also nominated tickets. Continue reading “1920 – The New York State Assembly refuses to seat five duly elected Socialist assemblymen”
30 December
Theodore Robert “Ted” Bundy (24 Nov, 1946 – 24 Jan, 1989) was an American serial killer, kidnapper, rapist, and necrophiliac who assaulted and murdered numerous young women and girls during the 1970s and possibly earlier. Shortly before his execution, after more than a decade of denials, he confessed to 30 homicides committed in seven states between 1974 and 1978. The true victim count remains unknown, and could be much higher. Continue reading “1977 – For the second time, Ted Bundy escapes from his cell in Glenwood Springs, Colorado”
24 December
Charles Milles Manson is an American criminal who led what became known as the Manson Family, a quasi-commune that arose in the California desert in the late 1960s. Manson and his followers committed a series of nine murders at four locations over a period of five weeks in the summer of 1969.
Originally, Judge William Keene had reluctantly granted Manson permission to act as his own attorney. Because of Manson’s conduct, including violations of a gag order and submission of “outlandish” and “nonsensical” pretrial motions, the permission was withdrawn before the trial’s start. Continue reading “1969 – Charles Manson is allowed to defend himself at the Tate–LaBianca murder trial”
