Animal Related Facts

 I wrote about some animal-related history facts 

Weather Related Facts

 I wrote a list of some weather-related history facts 

Jack the Stripper

 The Thames Nude Murders were a series of murders in London in the 1960s. Because the killer removed the victims’ clothes, he became known as Jack the Stripper.

It’s not certain how many women he killed but on 2 February 1964, the body of Hannah Tailford was found floating in the River Thames near Hammersmith Bridge in London. 

She was naked apart from her stockings. The unfortunate woman was strangled and several of her teeth were missing. Her knickers had been stuffed down her throat. 

The police surmised she had been dumped in the river at Dukes Meadows, a parkland in Chiswick, London. Hannah was a sex worker. She was from Northumberland, and she was 30 at the time of her death.

On 8 April 1964, a second body was found on the shore of the Thames at Chiswick. The victim was Irene Lockwood, aged 26. 

Like Hannah Tailford she was a sex worker. The police realised that both women were probably killed by the same man.

A third victim was found on 24 April 1964 in an alleyway in Brentford. The woman had been strangled, and three of her front teeth were missing. She was identified as Helen Barthelemy, aged 22, from Glasgow. She was naked and specks of lead-based paint were found on her skin. It was the kind of paint used in the car industry and the police surmised that her body had been stored in a workshop where a high-pressure paint sprayer was used.

A fourth victim, Mary Fleming, was discovered on 14 July 1964 in Berrymede Road in Chiswick, London. Mary, a Scottish woman was a sex worker. She was 30 years old. This time, too, specks of paint were found on the victim’s body.

Another victim, Frances Brown AKA Margaret McGowan, was found in a car park in Kensington on 25 November 1964. Frances was a sex worker. She was born in Glasgow. At the time of her death, she was 21.

On 16 February 1965, the body of Bridget O’Hara, known as ‘Bridie’ was found by a shed behind the Heron Trading Estate in Acton, London. Again, flecks of paint were found on the body. Bridget was born in Dublin, and she was 27 years old.

The murders then stopped, perhaps because the killer committed suicide. Or perhaps he was arrested for an unrelated offence. Thames Nude Murders, also called the Hammersmith Nude Murders, were never officially solved.

Forced Contraception in Greenland

 By chance, I found out about this scandal of forced contraception in Greenland 😠

Catherine Hayes

Catherine Hayes was executed for killing her husband in 1726. She was born Catherine Hall near Birmingham in 1690. She moved around the country working as a domestic servant. Eventually, she was employed by a farmer named Hayes in Warwickshire. In 1713, she married the farmer’s son John, who was a carpenter and merchant. In 1719, the couple moved to London, where John Hayes became a successful businessman.

But Catherine became dissatisfied with her marriage. In 1725, Catherine took in a lodger, a young man named Thomas Billings. He was a tailor. She had an affair with him. 

Catherine took in a second lodger, a man named Thomas Wood, who was a butcher. Catherine had affairs with both lodgers.

Catherine Hayes eventually decided to murder her husband. She persuaded her lovers that murder was justified because her husband physically abused her, and he blasphemed God (which was shocking in a religious age).

On 1 March 1726, John went drinking with the two lodgers. When they went home, John lay drunk on a bed. Billings hit John with an axe. A woman named Mrs Springate, who lived upstairs, heard John cry out and knocked on their door to ask about the noise. But Catherine managed to persuade her that nothing was wrong. She claimed she and some visitors had been ‘making merry’.

Wood helped Billings to finish off John, hitting him with the axe. To make identification more difficult, they cut off his head and threw it into the River Thames. They dumped the body in a pond in the countryside. 

But the head washed up on the shore of the River Thames, and it was found by a waterman. 

The head was displayed in public in the churchyard of St Margaret’s Church in Westminster, and certain people recognised it as the head of John Hayes. The rest of his body was discovered on 24 March.

Catherine Hayes and her two male lovers were arrested, tried, and found guilty. The two men were sentenced to be hanged (one of them, Thomas Wood, died in jail before the sentence could be carried out).

Thomas Billings was hanged on 9 May 1726, the same day Catherine was executed. His body was hanged in chains in a public place as a warning to others.

However, Catherine suffered a worse fate. In the 18th century, if a woman murdered her husband, it was considered ‘petty treason’, and the penalty was death by burning (although the woman was usually strangled with a rope before the flames reached her). Certain types of murder were considered petty treason. If a servant murdered his master or if a clergyman killed his superior.

The punishment of burning was abolished in 1790. The legal concept of petty treason was abolished in 1828.

Thomas Crapper Day

 27 January is Thomas Crapper Day. He was a great designer of toilets, but Mr Crapper did not actually invent the flushing toilet.

Wellingborough

 I wrote a little history of Wellingborough in Northamptonshire

Aberdeen

 This is my history of Aberdeen 

Newark on Trent

 I wrote a little history of Newark on Trent in Nottinghamshire 

Axminster

 I wrote a little history of Axminster in Dorset

Devizes

 I wrote a short history of Devizes 

Tiverton

 I wrote a brief history of the town of Tiverton in Devon 

The Axeman of New Orleans

 The axeman of New Orleans was an unknown serial killer in the years 1918-1919. As his title suggests, he killed people with an axe. He usually chiseled out a panel of a back door to gain access to people’s homes. His first victims were Joseph Maggio, an Italian grocer and his wife, Catherine. On 23 May 1918, the axeman broke into the couple’s home, cut their throats with a razor and then hit them both with an axe. The motive for the murders was unclear. It was not robbery, as nothing was taken.

The axeman next struck on 27 June 1918. He broke into the home of Louis Bessumer, another Italian grocer and Harriet Lowe. He struck both of them with an axe. Fortunately, both survived although Harriet suffered from partial facial paralysis for the rest of her life. Once again nothing was stolen.

The next attack was on 5 August 1918. The axeman broke into the home of Anna Schneider. He struck her with an object (some accounts say an axe, others say a bedside table lamp) but she survived. Anna was 8 months pregnant at the time of the attack but luckily the baby was not harmed. Anna gave birth shortly afterward.

The next victim was an elderly man named Joseph Romano. Joseph lived with his two nieces. On 10 August they were woken by the sounds of a struggle. On investigating they found their uncle had been hit with an axe. He was still alive but he died two days later.

The axeman did not strike again until 10 March 1919. This time he struck in Gretna, Louisiana. He broke into the home of Italian grocer Charles Cortimiglia. He struck Charles and his wife with an axe. Both survived. Sadly, their two year old daughter Mary was also hit with an axe and she died. Rosie accused Iorlando Jordano and his son Frank of being the attackers. Both men were convicted of murder. Iorlando was sentenced to life imprisonment while his son was sentenced to death. 

However, they could not have been guilty. Iorlando was nearly 70 and in poor health. His son, Frank, was a tall and heavily built man. The killer had chiseled out a panel of a door to gain entry. Frank would not have been able to squeeze through. Charles Cortimiglia said his wife was lying and the Jordano’s were innocent. 

Eventually, Rosie Cortimiglia admitted she lied and the two men were released. (Her motive for accusing two innocent men is not known).

Steve Boca was attacked by a man with an axe on 10 August 1919. Fortunately, he survived. Sarah Laumann was attacked on 3 September 1919. She too survived. 

The last murder by the New Orleans Axeman happened on 27 October 1919. A man named Mike Pepitone was attacked and killed in his bed. The attacks then ceased. The case remains a mystery.

The Brighton Trunk Murder of 1934

 On 17th June 1934, a railway employee named William Vinnicombe noticed a horrid odour coming from a trunk in a left luggage room in Brighton Railway Station. 

The trunk was locked, but Detective Bishop of the Railway Police was called to deal with it. Inside, they found the torso and arms of a woman. The head and legs were missing. 

The following day, 18 June 1934, a stinking suitcase was found at Kings Cross Railway Station in London. It contained the woman’s legs. 

The famous pathologist Bernard Spilsbury said the victim was a woman aged about 25. 

She was well nourished and probably stood about 5 feet 2 inches tall. Sadly, she was 5 months pregnant at the time of her death. Her head was never found, making identification very difficult.

From the condition of her hands, feet, and nails, Spilsbury thought the woman was middle class. He also gave his opinion that whoever dismembered the woman had little surgical skill. 

The police appealed for information about missing women, but the dead woman was never identified. The motive for the murder is unknown, and the whole case is a mystery.

Barnstaple History

 I wrote a brief history of Barnstaple, a town in Devon 

Telephones History

 I wrote a little history of telephones

Blaby

 I wrote a little history of Blaby, in Leicestershire

Women Astronomers

 I wrote about some famous women astronomers 

Mali

 I wrote a brief history of Mali 

Gabon History

 I wrote a history of Gabon, a small country in Africa.

Cartoons History

 I wrote a little history of cartoons

The Discovery of Dinosaurs

 I wrote another article, not about dinosaurs themselves but about how they were discovered.

Syria

 I wrote a brief history of Syria 

History of Armenia

 I wrote a brief history of Armenia