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David Berkowitz, the “Son of Sam” serial killer, was arrested and sentenced to six life sentences. The Smithsonian Institute was founded by James Smithson’s donation. Charles Manson and his followers were convicted of murder. John Walsh’s son was kidnapped and killed, leading to the creation of America’s Most Wanted. NASA’s Magellan probe mapped Venus. The first space wedding took place. The UK recorded temperatures above 100°F for the first time. Franklin D. Roosevelt was diagnosed with polio. Michael Phelps broke his own world record in the 400m individual medley. The first electric guitar patent was awarded. Candid Camera made its TV debut.
The serial killer “Son of Sam” has been arrested. (1977) David Berkowitz was convicted of killing six people and wounding seven others in New York City over the course of a year. He was sentenced to six life sentences, or 365 years.
The Smithsonian Institute is founded. (1846) The institution was created by a charter of the United States Congress. It is named after James Smithson, an English scientist who left $500,000 US dollars in his will to the US government with specific instructions to establish the institute. Interestingly, Smithson had never visited the United States.
Manson’s cult killed Rosemary and Leno LaBianca one day after killing Sharon Tate and four of her friends. (1969) Charles Manson and several of his cult followers were convicted of murder and sentenced to death. None were executed, however, because California temporarily eliminated the death penalty in 1972, which commuted all death sentences to life in prison.
The head of John Walsh’s son was found after the boy went missing two weeks earlier. (1981) John Walsh’s son Adam is kidnapped from a shopping mall in Hollywood, Florida and killed. His murder led to the creation of the American television show America’s Most Wanted, which his father hosts. More than 1,000 escapees have been caught with the help of the show.
NASA’s Magellan space probe has begun mapping Venus. (1990) Magellan arrived at his destination after 15 months. It created the highest resolution maps of the planet to date and was the first unmanned mission launched by NASA since 1978 when the Pioneer Orbiter went to Venus to conduct experiments.
The first space wedding took place. (2003) A Ukrainian-Russian astronaut, Yuri Malenchenko, married Ekaterina Dmitrieva while on the International Space Station. Ekaterina was in Texas during the wedding, about 240 miles (386 kilometers) below her new husband.
The UK is recording temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.7 degrees Celsius) for the first time. (2003) The temperature in Kent measured 101.3 degrees Fahrenheit (38.5 degrees Celsius). The summer of 2003 was the hottest on record in Europe in 500 years.
US President Franklin D. Roosevelt was diagnosed with polio. (1921) Illness paralyzed Roosevelt from the waist down. When he became the 32nd president of the United States in 1933, he established the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, which became the March of Dimes.
Michael Phelps broke his own world record in the 400m individual medley at the Beijing Summer Olympics. (2008) Swimming record of 4:03.84 earned him the first of a record-breaking eight gold medals he would go on to win at that Olympics.
The world’s first electric guitar patent was awarded to Electro String Corporation. (1937) Inventor GD Beauchamp, working with Adolph Rickenbacher of the Electro String Instrument Corporation of Los Angeles, obtained a patent for his guitar, the Rickenbacker Frying Pan.
The American television show Candid Camera made its debut. (1948) The show had previously been broadcast on radio and was called Candid Microphone.
