Jesse James and his gang of outlaws rode into Gads Hill, Missouri and staged a train robbery.

After being shot at twice, Andrew Jackson used his cane to fend off his attacker, Richard Lawrence.

In Indonesia, thousands of student protestors marched through Jakarta, calling for the resignation of President Abdurrahman Wahid.

The infamous Edinburgh bodysnatcher was publicly hanged after murdering over a dozen people with his partner in crime, William Hare, and selling their bodies to a professor.

In an apparent case of consensual murder, Bobby Glass bound and tortured Sharon Lopatka to death after weeks of exchanging sexually explicit emails.

Scottish serial killer and necrophiliac Dennis Nilsen claimed his fifteenth and final victim, Stephen Sinclair.

Enraged by American imperialism in the Middle East, Mir Aimal Kansi opened fire outside of CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia.

The 20-year-old daughter of Kurdish immigrants living in South London was raped and murdered at the behest of her father, who believed she had brought shame to the family.

The co-leader of a notorious gang in New York City called the Whyos was hanged after he was convicted of first-degree murder.

In a famously controversial decision, the U.S. Supreme Court established a woman’s legal right to an abortion.

Psychedelics researcher and former Harvard professor Dr. Timothy Leary was convicted of smuggling drugs across the U.S.-Mexico border.

Charles I of England faced charges of high crimes and treason stemming from the English Civil War.

20-year-old Jan Palach died three days after setting himself on fire in a protest against Soviet invasion.

In a controversial ruling that set a precedent for state-sanctioned violence, the European Court of Human Rights found the United Kingdom guilty of mistreating — but not torturing — Irish Catholic prisoners.

A group of eleven men stole millions of dollars from an armored car depot belonging to the Brink’s company. It was the largest heist in U.S. history at the time.

The son of actor Bill Cosby was murdered in cold blood after he stopped to fix a flat tire on the side of a California freeway.

Elizabeth Short’s mutilated body was found on this day in a Los Angeles suburb.

The doctor is considered one of the most notorious serial killers in English history.

In a case that became legendary, the secretary for silent film star Clara Bow was put on trial for stealing from her employer.

A group of liberal Catholic activists stood accused of numerous charges, including damage to federal buildings and a conspiracy to kidnap foreign affairs advisor Henry Kissinger.

The 24-year-old, who had been accused in 2005 of murdering Natalee Holloway in a highly publicized case, admitted to murdering Stephany Flores in Peru.

The disgraced William Laud was imprisoned in the Tower of London for nearly five years before facing an axeman.

A traffic violation exposed a notorious serial killer who had eluded police for years in Riverside, California.

The Arizona congresswoman was shot by 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner at a public event in Tucson.

The Danish prince was ambushed in Haraldsted Forest by his cousin Magnus, who was desperate to preserve his own claim to the throne.