May 23

On this day - May 23 1934 -Bonnie and Clyde died in a police ambush 

Bonnie and Clyde was to famous American bank robbers during the Great Depression. They traveled around the Central US with their gang, robbing and killing banks, stores and people during their travels. Their gang consisted of different people, but Clydes older brother and his wife was with Bonnie and Clyde the day they died. It is believed that the gang killed nine police officers, but they got their revenge on May 23. Bonnie and Clyde was ambushed in Louisiana by six police officers who shot and killed the couple. The police knew where the couple would be because they traveled the same route based on family visits. The police predicted where the couple would travel next. The offices emptied their guns on the couple in the car and they both died. Their life is portrayed in the movie "Bonnie and Clyde" from 1964.

April 2nd

On this day - April 2nd 1992 - John Gotti was convicted of murder and racketeering 

John Joseph Gotti Jr. was an Italian-American gangster that used to be the boss of the Gambino crime family in New York. Gotti was the fifth of thirteen children growing up in South Bronx. Five of the brothers became fully initiated members (made men) in the Gambino family. Gotti grew up in poverty and sought a life of crime from an early age. He quickly became one of the biggest earners in the crime family. Gotti rose to power after the FBI indicted other members of the Gambino family for selling narcotics. Fearing that he would be killed he arranged for the murder of the head of the family, which made Gotti the main boss of the family. Gotti attracted a lot of attention for his outspoken personality and his expensive taste. This lead to the nickname The Dapper Don. He later gained the nickname The Teflon Don for being acquittal three times in high-profile cases in the 1980s. In the end Gotti was betrayed by his underboss Salvatore Gravano who turned state's evidence and testified against Gotti. On this day Gotti was convicted to life in prison and in 2002 he died of throat cancer.  

January 8th

On this day - 8th January 1697 - Last execution for blasphemy in UK

Scottish medical student Thomas Aikenhead was only between 18 and 20 years old when he was executed for blasphemy. He was the last person in United Kingdom to be executed for this "crime". His indictment from December 1696 read "[...] the prisoner had repeatedly maintained in conversation, that theology was a rhapsody of ill-invented nonsense". He was found guilty on December 24th and sentenced to death to set an example for others who might express such views in the future. Aikenhead plead for mercy and took back all that he had said, but on January 8th was Aikenhead hanged in Edinburgh.


A research on Thomas Aikenhead and Blasphemy