A Brief History On April 28, 1996, a 28 year old that had inherited over half a million dollars went on a shooting rampage in Tasmania, killing 35 innocent people and earning 35 life in prison sentences when he was later convicted of the crimes. Not surprisingly, the shooter was later found to have intellectual and/or mental/emotional problems. Digging Deeper Martin Bryant had inherited the money at the age of 25 in 1992, using it to go on trips all over the world, without establishing a career of any note. Along the way, he also purchased an AR-10 type rifle,…
Browsing: April 28
A Brief History On April 28, 1881, the notorious outlaw and gunman known as Billy the Kid escaped from his jail cell where he was being held after he was convicted of murder and sentenced to death. In a previous article, 5 Dashing, Daring, and Dynamic Escapes we discussed some famous/infamous escapes, and today we again explore the topic of people escaping from custody against all odds of success. Digging Deeper 1. Billy the Kid Cheats the Hangman by Escaping Jail, 1881. Often referred to as being named “William H. Bonney,” the Kid’s real name was probably Henry McCarty. And…
A Brief History On April 28, 1192, the Christian King of Jerusalem, Conrad of Montferrat, perhaps better known as Conrad I, was murdered by an Islamic organization called the Order of Assassins, or the Hashshashins. A nobleman from Northern Italy, Conrad was one of the chief architects of the Third Crusade (1189-1192) and had only served as the elected King of Jerusalem for mere days before being assassinated. Digging Deeper Conrad was murdered while walking back to his home from a visit to Bishop Phillip of Dreux, Bishop of Beauvais, stabbed in the back and side by 2 assassins even…
A Brief History On April 28, 1503, the armies of Spain and France fought in Southern Italy at a place called Cerignola (near Bari), a battle decided by the small arms fire of muskets and arquebuses, one of the first European battles where small arms fire from firearms decided the battle. Although hand held firearms using black powder had been around for nearly 200 years, such weapons had usually not been decisive in battles fought mainly with edged weapons and later with a combination of edged weapons and cannons. Digging Deeper Gunpowder is an invention normally credited to the Chinese…
A Brief History On April 28, 1944, an Allied training mission in preparation for the upcoming D-Day invasion of France went from bad to worse, resulting in a bizarre exercise defeat that was kept secret (kind of) from the public for years. (Typical government modus operandi!) Digging Deeper Exercise Tiger as the operation was called began on April 22, 1944 with drills moving men and equipment preparing to embark on invasion shipping. On April 26 the embarkation was complete and the “invasion” fleet of 9 LST landing ships escorted by 2 destroyers, 3 torpedo boats and 4 gunboats sailed for the…
