Sunday 24th of October 1537

Third wife of Henry VIII Jane Seymour dies of puerperal fever at the age of 29 in Hampton Court Palace, Richmond upon Thames, Surrey, United Kingdom.

Seymour contracted a bacterial infection during the birth of the future King Edward VI or by a tear in her perineum which became infected.

Saturday 24th of October 1903

FBI Special Agent Melvin Horace Purvis aka Little Mel is born in Timmonsville, South Carolina, United States.

Sunday 24th of October 1915

Comic book artist Bob Kane known for Batman is born as Robert Kahn in New York City, New York, United States.

Thursday 24th of October 1918

Hotelier César Ritz dies of unknown causes at the age of 68 in Küssnacht, Schwyz, Switzerland.

Saturday 24th of October 1925

Composer Luciano Berio is born in Oneglia, Liguria, Italy.

Sunday 24th of October 1926

52-year-old Illusionist, magician and escapologist Harry Houdini aka The Handcuff King performs his last magic performance show in Garrick Theatre, Griswold Street, Detroit, Michigan, United States.

When Houdini arrived at the Garrick Theater for what would be his last performance, he had a fever of 40° C. Despite the diagnosis of acute appendicitis Houdini took the stage. He was reported to have passed out during the show but was revived and continued. After the show he was hospitalized at Detroit's Grace Hospital.

Monday 24th of October 1927

Singer and actor Gilbert Bécaud aka Monsieur 100.000 Volts is born as François Gilbert Léopold Silly in Toulon, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France.

Friday 24th of October 1930

Musician, singer and songwriter Jiles Perry Richardson aka The Big Bopper is born in Sabine Pass, Texas, United States.

Tuesday 24th of October 1933

Gangster Reginald Kray aka Reggie Kray is born in 64 Stean Street, London, Hoxton, East London, United Kingdom.

Tuesday 24th of October 1933

Gangster Ronald Kray aka Ronnie Kray is born in 64 Stean Street, London, Hoxton, East London, United Kingdom.

Ronnie was born about ten minutes after his identical twin brother Reggie.

Thursday 24th of October 1935

Mobster Arthur Flegenheimer aka Dutch Schultz dies of peritonitis at the age of 34 in Newark City Hospital, Newark, New Jersey, United States.

Flegenheimer was shot by Charley 'The Bug' Workman 22 hours earlier at the Palace Chop House. His famous last words, induced by high fever and morphine were recorded by a stenographer and inspired a number of writers including William S. Burroughs.

Tuesday 24th of October 1939

34-year-old Murderess Winnie Ruth Judd aka The Trunk Murderess escapes in Arizona State Hospital, 2500 E. Van Buren, Phoenix, Arizona, United States.

Judd returned voluntarily six days later after visiting her ill mother.

Tuesday 24th of October 1944

Automobile manufacturing pioneer Louis Renault dies due to mistreatment in Fresnes Prison while accused of collaboration at the age of 67 in Clinique Saint-Jean de Dieu, 19 Rue Oudinot, Paris, VIIe, Île-de-France, France.

Wednesday 24th of October 1945

Member of the Rote Armee Fraktion and Sozialistisches Patientenkollektiv Hanna Elise Krabbe known from Kommando Holger Meins is born in Bad Bentheim, Niedersachsen, Germany.

Sunday 24th of October 1948

Composer Franz Lehár known for his operetta Die Lustige Witwe dies of natural causes at the age of 78 in Bad Ischl, Oberösterreich, Austria.

Monday 24th of October 1949

Serial killer Robert William 'Willie' Pickton aka The Pig Farmer Killer is born in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada.

Wednesday 24th of October 1951

Black art student and music fan Meredith Curly Hunter aka Murdock is born in Alameda County, California, United States.

Saturday 24th of October 1953

19-year-old Serial killer Juan Vallejo Corona aka The Machete Murderer marries Gabriella E. Hermosillo in Reno, Nevada, United States.

In 1959 Corona married Gloria I. Moreno.

Monday 24th of October 1955

Double murderer Jose Jesus Ceja is born in Maricopa, Arizona, United States.

Thursday 24th of October 1957

Fashion designer Christian Dior dies of a heart attack at the age of 52 in Montecatini Terme, Toscana, Italy.

Some reports say that Dior died of a heart attack after choking on a fish bone. Time's obituary stated that he died of a heart attack after playing a game of cards. However, the Paris socialite Baron de Redé wrote in his memoirs that contemporary rumor was that Dior's heart attack had been caused by a strenuous sexual encounter with two young men.

Friday 24th of October 1958

Double murderer Bart Luis Caritativo is executed by the gas chamber at the age of 52 in San Quentin State Prison, San Quentin, California, United States.

Monday 24th of October 1960

Over 120 skilled technicians and scientists die in ICBM R-16 rocket missile explosion in Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 41, Baykonur, Kazakhstan.

As a prototype of the missile was being prepared for a test flight, an explosion occurred when second stage engines ignited accidentally while it was still on the launchpad. Despite the magnitude of the disaster, news of it was suppressed for many years and the Soviet government did not acknowledge the event until 1989.

Wednesday 24th of October 1962

37-year-old Stand-up comedian, social critic and satirist Lenny Bruce is arrested for obscenity in The Troubadour, 9081 Santa Monica Boulevard, Hollywood, California, United States.

The specification was that Bruce had used the word schmuck, an insulting Yiddish term that is an obscene word for penis.

Tuesday 24th of October 1967

Heavy Metal fan Raymond Eugene Belknap is born in Reno, Nevada, United States.

Tuesday 24th of October 1972

24-year-old Mary Margaret Guilfoyle is stabbed to death by serial killer Herbert Mullin aka The Hippie Killer in Empire Grade, Santa Cruz, California, United States.

Mullin then dissected Guilfoyle's body and scattered her remains alongside a hillside road.

Saturday 24th of October 1981

Noise music band Club Moral play their third concert in Autonomia, Triomflaan, Brussel, Brabant, Belgium.

Monday 24th of October 1983

Start of the trial against 38-year-old Serial killer Dennis Andrew Nilsen aka Killing For Company in Old Bailey Criminal Court, London, Greater London, United Kingdom.

Thursday 24th of October 1991

Television screenwriter and producer Gene Eugene Wesley Roddenberry known for the TV series Star Trek dies of cardiopulmonary arrest at the age of 70 in Santa Monica, California, United States.

In the late 1980s Roddenberry was afflicted by the first manifestations of cerebral vascular disease and encephalopathy as a result of his longstanding recreational abuse of legal and illicit drugs, including alcohol, marijuana, Valium, Seconal, Ritalin, Dexamyl, and cocaine. The effects of these substances were compounded by deleterious interactions with diabetes, high blood pressure, and antidepressant prescriptions. On 21 April 1997 a Celestis spacecraft carrying portions of the cremated remains of Roddenberry, of Timothy Leary and of 22 other people was launched into Earth orbit aboard a Pegasus XL rocket from near the Canary Islands. On 20 May 2002 the spacecraft's orbit deteriorated and it disintegrated in the atmosphere.

Thursday 24th of October 1996

15-year-old Olga Galtseva is abducted, sexually assaulted and tortured by serial killer, child rapist and cannibal Alexander Spesivtsev aka The Siberian Tiger in Novokuznetsk, Kemerovo Oblast, Russia.

Galtseva was forced to eat soup made out of her friend. She died a day after being discovered. Also found were the mutilated bodies of 13-year-old Yevgenia Barashkina and 13-year-old Anastasia Burnayeva who had been missing for over a month. In all, the clothing, shoes and personal possessions of over 80 children were found in Spesivtsev's apartment. His mother Ludmila lured some of the children into their apartment under different pretenses and helped with the disposal of the remains of the victims.

Friday 24th of October 1997

42-year-old Maurizio Parenti and his 34-year-old wife Carla Scotto is killed by serial killer Donato Bilancia aka Il Mostro della Liguria in Genova, Liguria, Italy.

Thursday 24th of October 2002

42-year-old Serial killer John Allen Muhammad aka The Beltway Sniper and his 17-year-old accomplice Lee Boyd Malvo are arrested in Myersville, Maryland, United States.

Muhammad's blue 1990 Chevrolet Caprice, a former police car, was spotted parked in an Interstate 70 rest stop.

Friday 24th of October 2003

Whitehouse performing in Brussel, Brabant, Belgium.

Sunday 24th of October 2004

Noise music band Club Moral play their 107th concert as Coda of the La Belgique 666 Points festival in Ancienne Belgique, Boulevard Anspach 110, Brussel, Brabant, Belgium.

Tuesday 24th of October 2006

Self-proclaimed prophet and cult leader Jeffrey Don Lundgren aka The Volunteer is executed by lethal injection at the age of 56 in Southern Ohio Correctional Facility, Lucasville, Ohio, United States.

Lucas' final meal was turkey, potatoes and gravy, a salad and pumpkin pie. "For my last words I'd like to profess my love for God, my family, my children and my beloved wife. ... I am because you are."