1589: Monk Jacques Clement Stabs King Henry III to Death in Saint-Cloud

On 1 August 1589, Jacques Clement, a Dominican lay brother and zealous supporter of the Catholic League, gained an audience with King Henry III at Saint-Cloud, where the king was besieging Paris during the French Wars of Religion. Concealing a dagger beneath his cloak, Clement stabbed the king under the pretence of delivering a confidential message. The royal attendants cut Clement down immediately, but Henry III lingered until the following morning, dying after urging Henri of Navarre that conversion to Catholicism was the only path to lasting peace.

Clement, born in 1567 at Serbonnes in Burgundy, had been radicalised by League ideology and the targeted killings of its leaders, the Duke and Cardinal de Guise. His plot had the quiet blessing of Catherine de Guise, Duchess Montpensier, who saw it as righteous vengeance. The League faithful hailed him as a martyr; Royalists and Protestants condemned him as a fanatic. His corpse was posthumously quartered and burned.

Portrait of Jacques Clement assassin of King Henry III
Portrait of Jacques Clement assassin of King Henry III

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1835: The Infernal Machine: Fieschi’s 25-Barrel Assassination Attempt on King Louis Philippe I

On 28 July 1835, Giuseppe Marco Fieschi fired a homemade 25-barrel volley gun, dubbed the ‘infernal machine’, from a third-floor window at 50 Boulevard du Temple in Paris, directly into the convoy of King Louis Philippe I of France. The weapon unleashed around 400 projectiles in a single volley; the king escaped with only a graze to the forehead, but 18 people were killed and 22 more wounded, at least four of whom had limbs amputated.

The gun’s design proved its own undoing: French artillery officers later concluded that if Fieschi had understood ballistics well enough to angle the barrels so they diverged and crossed, he could have killed up to 200 additional people and destroyed the king entirely. Instead, the parallel configuration limited the carnage. Fieschi himself was badly wounded when several barrels burst; he fled but was tracked by a trail of blood and captured shortly after.

Illustration of an assassination attempt on a king
Illustration of an assassination attempt on a king

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On This Day in True Crime History – 12th October

Today we rewind the clock to the 12th of October on This Day in True Crime History.

1609: 🎡 Hidden Horrors in Harmony: The Dark Tale Behind Three Blind Mice 🐁

On this day in 1609, London witnessed the publication of what seemed to be a simple nursery rhyme, “Three Blind Mice.” While it enchanted children with its catchy tune, some historians theorize that the “three blind mice” are believed to represent three Protestant bishops who conspired against Queen Mary I of England, infamously known as “Bloody Mary”. Their failed plot led to their conviction for treason and subsequent execution by being burned at the stake. The “farmer’s wife” cutting off their tails with a carving knife? None other than Queen Mary herself. 🎢πŸ”₯πŸ‘‘

1933: πŸ”’ From Island to Infamy: Alcatraz’s Transformation into America’s Most Dreaded Prison 🌊

On this day in 1933 Alcatraz Island, formerly a military fortification, underwent its most notorious transformation: it became a federal maximum-security prison designed to hold the nation’s most dangerous criminals. Alcatraz was the ultimate punishment – a remote, inescapable fortress where inmates faced a life of strict discipline amidst the chilling winds and unforgiving waves. Names like Al “Scarface” Capone and Robert “Birdman” Stroud would soon echo through its cells, cementing Alcatraz’s reputation in true crime lore. πŸ’πŸ¦œπŸš”

1949: 🌍 Birth of a Mercenary – The Early Days of Carlos the Jackal πŸ”«

On this day in 1949, Ilich RamΓ­rez SΓ‘nchez was born in Venezuela. He would later become infamously known to the world as Carlos the Jackal, responsible for a series of terrorist attacks and hostage takings across Europe during the 1970s and early 1980s. Raised by a devoutly Catholic mother and a Marxist father, his early introduction to communism set the stage for his future activities. πŸŒŽβœˆοΈπŸ•΅οΈβ€β™‚οΈπŸ§¨

South America

1960: πŸ“Ί A Live Broadcast Turned Tragedy: The Assassination of Inejiro Asanuma πŸ—‘οΈ

On this day in 1960, televisions across Japan showed what would become one of the most shocking moments in the nation’s modern history. Inejiro Asanuma, leader of the Japan Socialist Party, was addressing a political gathering when a young nationalist named Otoya Yamaguchi rushed onto the stage and assassinated Asanuma with a samurai sword. The horrifying act was witnessed in real time by countless viewers. πŸ‡―πŸ‡΅πŸŽ₯🚫

Assassin

1984: πŸ’₯ Brighton’s Dark Day: The IRA’s Attempt on Thatcher 🏨

On this day in 1984, the serene coastal town of Brighton, England, became the epicentre of a chilling political assassination attempt aiming to eliminate British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and her cabinet, who were staying there for the Conservative Party Conference. The Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) orchestrated a bomb attack at the Grand Hotel; nevertheless, the Prime Minister narrowly escaped, but the blast claimed the lives of five individuals and injured 31 others. πŸ‡¬πŸ‡§πŸ”πŸš‘

Margaret Thatcher

1988: πŸ” Melbourne’s Unsolved Mystery: The Walsh Street Shootings πŸš“

On this day in 1988, a tragic incident unfolded in South Yarra, Melbourne. Constables Steven Tynan, aged 22, and Damian Eyre, aged 20, members of the Victoria Police force, were ambushed and tragically killed during the early hours πŸ•°οΈ. The Walsh Street police shootings sent shockwaves 🌊 through Melbourne, leading to an intense and prolonged investigation which to this day remains unsolved. πŸ”

Walsh St

2002: πŸ’₯ Bali’s Night of Horror πŸ’₯🌴

On this day in 2002, Indonesia faced its deadliest act of terrorism. The Bali bombings resulted in the tragic loss of 202 lives, and among the casualties, 88 were Australians πŸ‡¦πŸ‡Ί. The bustling nightlife of Bali’s Kuta district was shattered when blasts from two bombs ripped through popular nightclubs. 🌌

Bali Today
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On This Day in True Crime History

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