Category: Articles of the key ‘dark’ historical events across the world

By Tim Lambert 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… Continue reading Catherine Hayes

By Tim Lambert Catherine Wilson has the distinction of being the last woman to be hanged in public in London. Public executions drew big crowds as they were free entertainment. Catherine Wilson was a female poisoner. Her poison of choice was colchicum, a kind of crocus. In small doses, it was used as a medicine… Continue reading Catherine Wilson – the Poisoner

By Tim Lambert Elizabeth Short, known as the Black Dahlia was the victim of an unsolved murder that took place in 1947. She was just 22. Her body was found on the morning of Wednesday 15 January 1947 on a vacant building plot in the Leimert Park district of Los Angeles in California. Her naked… Continue reading Elizabeth Short, The Black Dahlia

By Tim Lambert Franz Muller, a German, was the first person to murder on a train in Britain. Muller was born on 31 October 1840. He became a tailor. In 1864, he was living in England, but he struggled to make a living. At that time, trains were divided into carriages, without connecting corridors. On… Continue reading Franz Muller

By Tim Lambert Gordon Cummins was a serial killer in Britain in 1942. He was known as the Blackout Ripper because he killed women during blackouts. During the Second World War, all lights had to be hidden to avoid helping enemy bombers.  Windows were covered to prevent lights in buildings from shining out, and the… Continue reading Gordon Cummins

By Tim Lambert Havant has a connection with Jack the Ripper. At the time of the murders, in 1888 a letter with a Portsmouth postmark was sent to a magistrate claiming to be from Jack the Ripper. The writer said not to look for him in London because ‘I’m not there’. Shortly afterwards a boy… Continue reading Jack the Ripper in Havant?

By Tim Lambert Martha Place was the first woman to be executed by electric chair. She murdered her stepmother and attempted to murder her husband.  Martha was born on 8 September 1849 in New Jersey, USA. Her birth name was Martha Garrettson. Martha married a man named Wesley Savacool and they had a son. But… Continue reading Martha Place

By Tim Lambert The Beginning In the 19th century Australia had a number of outlaws or bushrangers; the most famous is Ned Kelly. Edward or Ned Kelly was born in 1855 of Irish parents. Ned Kelly became a bushranger in 1878 when policemen called Alexander Fitzpatrick went to arrest his brother for horse stealing. There… Continue reading The Bushranger Ned Kelly

By Tim Lambert In 1666 London was devastated by a terrible fire. The Great Fire of London destroyed a great deal of property but fortunately, only a small number of people were killed. In the 17th century fire was a constant danger in towns when many houses were made of wood and streets were narrow.… Continue reading The Great Fire of London 1666

By Tim Lambert The Holodomor was a man-made famine in Ukraine in 1932-33. It was caused by Stalin, and it led to the deaths of millions of people. Stalin decided that farms in Ukraine should be collectivized. The peasants would be deprived of their land and domestic animals. They would be made to work as… Continue reading The Holodomor