What Happened on July 22?

  • Cannibal and serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer was arrested. (1991) Dahmer murdered 17 males, including both boys and men, between 1978 and 1991. The murders included torture, necrophilia, cannibalism, rape and dismemberment. He was found guilty and sentence to 957 years, or 15 life terms, in prison. He was beaten to death by Christopher Scarver, a fellow inmate on November 28, 1994.

  • Famous bank robber John Dillinger was shot and killed by FBI agents. (1934) Often called "Public Enemy No. 1," Dillinger was finally shot on the street in front of the Biograph Theatre in Chicago after a long manhunt. Dillinger became something of an urban legend as his prison escapes, bank robberies and exploits were sensationalized. Several movies were made, depicting his life and ultimate demise. Dillinger robbed more banks in one year than Jesse James did in his entire 15-year criminal career. Interestingly, on this same day in 1923, Dillinger had joined the US Navy in an attempt to avoid arrest and conviction for stealing a car; the Navy didn't work out for him.

  • Wiley Post became the first person to fly solo around the world. (1933) Post took off from Floyd Bennett Field in New York City and traveled 15,596 miles (25,099 kilometers) over a period of 7 days, 18 hours and 45 minutes. His return was greeted by some 50,000 people.

  • The world's first motorized race took place in France. (1894) The 80-mile (128-kilometer) race route was from Paris to Rouen. 25 racers qualified to compete, and Count Jules-Albert de Dion was originally announced as the winner of the race. Upon review, his car was found to require a stoker, which was not allowed by the race committee, and he was disqualified.

  • Susan Smith was found guilty of first-degree murder for drowning her two children. (1995) Smith drowned her two sons, who were three-years-old and 14-months-old, by locking them in her car and rolling it into a lake. She initially tried to claim a black man had stolen her car, but confessed to committing the crime a couple days later. She was sentenced to a minimum of 30 years and will be eligible for parole in 2024.

  • Jessica Lynch returned home to a hero's welcome. (2003) Lynch, a US Army Private, was wounded in Iraq in an ambush on March 23, 2003. After the ambush, she was held captive and later rescued by US Special Forces on April 1st. Some, including Lynch, claim the account of her situation was greatly embellished by the US government and media to increase support for the Iraq war.

  • The US government began rationing gasoline due to supply demands for the World War II war effort. (1942) Rationing was a common occurrence during the war. Common items that were rationed included tires, for rubber; meat; butter; cheese; sugar; and even penicillin. Other items were also rationed, including typewriters, shoes and bicycles.

  • The first dogs flew in space. (1951) The Russian dogs, named Dezik and Tsygan, made a sub-orbital flight. The Russian space program used dogs quite often to determine whether a particular space mission would be safe for humans.

  • Drug lord Pablo Escobar escaped from prison. (1992) Escobar escaped from the Columbian prison La Catedral, which became known as his private, luxury prison, to avoid extradition to the US. The ensuing manhunt came to an end a year and a half later when Escobar was shot by Colombian National Police, as he tried to flee.

  • American poet Emma Lazarus was born. (1849) Lazarus is famous for penning the words that appear on the Statue of Liberty, from her poem The New Colossus.

Discussion Comments

anon991848

Dahmer was clean cut, conventionally behaved, and charming when necessary; most people who knew him considered him nice but boring - who'd have thunk it? (Never was even suspected.) Also, he chose his victims carefully - those who'd not be missed or pursued.

Viranty

That's funny, because I didn't know that dogs ever flew in space. Not only does it show that humans and dogs are a lot more alike than we think, but even more so, we're even capable of sending animals into the unknown without a problem. In fact, that might even be a better alternative than sending humans out there. After all, animals have been used as test subjects many times in the past.

Euroxati

@Chmander - One thing you need to remember is that the police have to build up a case against someone. Adding onto that, he may have been very hard to track down, constantly on the move. Criminals that are as vicious as him generally try to leave as little evidence behind as possible. Taking all these factors into consideration, it's understandable why he took so long to catch.

Chmander

The first bullet point is interesting, but rather horrifying. While I've heard of cannibalism before, I didn't know it could go to this extent. Also, considering how he murdered over seventeen males, I wonder why it took so long for the authorities to find him. After all, with a case as serious as this, you would think the authorities would be on top of it.

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