Browsing: Crime

A Brief History On September 11, 1792, in the midst of the confusion of the French Revolution, the crown jewels, which included the fabulous Hope Diamond (Le Bleu de France), were stolen. Digging Deeper Mined in India in the 17th century, it came to the attention of a Frenchman by the name of Jean-Baptiste Tavernier who brought it back to France with him where he sold it to the Sun King, Louis XIV.  Known first as the “Tavernier Blue” and then “Le Bijou du Roi” (the King’s jewel), the Hope Diamond was originally a blue, 112-carat diamond.  For the next 124 years, it remained the property of the French royal family…

A Brief History On September 10, 1898, Empress Elisabeth of Austria was stabbed in the chest by assassin Luigi Lucheni.  Just as men have been targeted over the years, women have also found themselves at the receiving end of an assassin’s bullet, sword or poison.  Here 10 women are listed who were famous or powerful enough that someone wanted to get rid of them for political reasons or personal convictions.   Digging Deeper 10. Diana, Princess of Wales, 1997. Killed in a car wreck while supposedly trying to shake off paparazzi, rumors and conspiracy theories that Diana and her boyfriend (Dodi…

A Brief History On September 9, 1739, the Stono Slave Rebellion, the largest slave revolt in pre-revolutionary British America took place in Charleston, South Carolina.  Throughout history, humans have kept other humans as slaves.  Some slaves resisted; some even revolted successfully.  Here 10 incidents when slaves had finally had enough and rose up against their masters are listed.   Digging Deeper 10. Stono Rebellion, British North American Colonies, 1739. In this rebellion, also known as “Cato’s Rebellion” after its leader, an educated slave, African slaves from the Congo, some of whom were former soldiers, attempted to break free and travel to Florida…

A Brief History On September 8, 1974, American President Gerald Ford pardoned former President Richard Nixon of any crimes he may have committed while in office.  Although some members of the U.S. public were relieved that the country was saved the spectacle of an ex-president on trial, many were outraged, and that act of mercy may have cost Ford the 1976 presidential election. Throughout history, there have been many cases of people being pardoned where the public thought they did not deserve to be granted clemency.  In some of the cases, a pardoned person went on with their criminal ways or reverted…

A Brief History On September 3, 1941, the first experiments using an insecticide which had been adapted to kill people were conducted at the Auschwitz concentration camp.  Soviet prisoners of war were gassed to death with a cyanide-based insecticide in a dress rehearsal for the mass extermination of Jews and others known as the Holocaust. Digging Deeper Zyklon B was a product made by the giant German chemical company IG Farben.  Developed from an earlier version known as Zyklon A, it was originally intended to be used as an insecticide and delousing agent.  In its insecticide form, it had a special odorant added for safety reasons so that the smell…