Giuseppe “Joe” Aiello (1970 - 1930)

Organized Crime Figure. Born in Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily, he immigrated to Milwaukee, Wisconsin around 1912. He and his family eventually settled on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois, where he became in volved in liquor bootlegging, and where he eventually came into a conflict with crime boss Al Capone. After several years and many […]

Philip Burnett Franklin Agee (1935 - 2008)

Author, American Intelligence Agent. A former Central Intelligence Agency field agent, he is best known for his 1975 book “Inside the Company: CIA Diary”. He left the CIA after twelve years in 1969, disenchanted with the Agency and how it was being operated. In 1973, he went to the Soviet Union’s embassy in Mexico City, […]

Anton Adner (1970 - 1822)

German Folk Figure, Wood Artisan. It is believed that his birthplace was in Schonau, Bavaria, in the region of Berchtesgaden. He earned a modest living by building and selling his wooden creations that included toys and boxes, along with knitting picturesque socks. During his lifetime, the region of Berchtesgaden imposed strict commerce regulations in which […]

Rudolf Ivanovich Abel (1903 - 1971)

Soviet Union Intelligence Officer. He was a Russian Cold War spy who had been captured by the United States while engaged in espionage. Born Vilyam Genrikhovich Fisher in England to revolutionary parents who fled Czarist Russia, he served in the Russian Army during World War II, engaging in clandestine operations behind Nazi German lines. Trained […]

Abu Abbas (1948 - 2004)

Terrorist. Born Muhammad Zaydan, he was the head of the terrorist group “Palestine Liberation Front”. He masterminded the 1985 hijacking of the Italian passenger ship “Achille Lauro” in which a wheelchair-bound American tourist, Leon Klinghoffer was thrown overboard. He was captured by United States forces in Iraq in April, 2003, and was being held in […]

Jiverly Wong (1967 - 2009)

At about 10:30 a.m. EDT, Jiverly Wong barricaded the rear door of the Binghamton American Civic Association building with a vehicle registered in his father’s name. He was described as wearing a bullet-proof vest, a bright green nylon jacket, and dark-rimmed glasses. Jiverly Wong entered through the front door, firing a number of bullets at people […]

Wade Michael Page (1971 - 2012)

Following emergency calls around 10:25 a.m. CDT, police responded to a shooting at a Sikh gurdwara located in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. On arrival, they engaged the gunman, later identified as Wade Michael Page, who had shot several people at the temple, killing six. Page wounded an officer; after being shot in the stomach by another, […]

Andrew Engeldinger (1976 - 2012)

The shooting took place at Accent Signage Systems, a sign-making business located in the Bryn Mawr neighborhood of Minneapolis, which is bisected by Interstate 394. Andrew John Engeldinger, an employee of the firm, was called over to the office of operations director John Souter. Before going to the executive offices, Engeldinger first went to his […]

John Zawahri (1989 - 2013)

After setting fire to the house, John Zawahri, armed with an AR-15-type semiautomatic rifle, which he put together himself from legally purchased components, some of which required machining with a mill. He stopped a woman driving a Mazda hatchback, holding her at gunpoint. A passing female driver tried to intervene and was shot and wounded […]

Aaron Alexis (1979 - 2013)

On Monday, September 16, Aaron Alexis left his hotel and arrived at the Navy Yard in a rented Toyota Prius at around 7:53 a.m., using a valid pass to enter the Yard. He entered Building 197 at 8:08 a.m. through the main entrance, carrying the disassembled shotgun (the barrel and stock of which had been […]

Elliot Rodger (1991 - 2014)

Elliot Rodger began his attacks at his apartment on Seville Road, where three men were found dead inside. Each victim had received multiple stab wounds, and all had been killed approximately three hours before the shooting spree. Their bodies were found the day following the shootings. They were identified as Rodger’s roommates, Weihan Wang and […]

Mohammod Youssuf Abdulazeez (1990 - 2015)

On July 16, 2015, Mohammod Youssuf Abdulazeez opened fire on two military installations in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He first committed a drive-by shooting at a recruiting center, then traveled to a U.S. Navy Reserve center and continued firing, where he was killed by police in a gunfight. Four Marines died on the spot. A Navy sailor, […]

Omar Mateen (1986 - 2016)

Omar Mateen was born as Omar Mir Seddique in New York City to Afghan parents, with his father being a supporter of the Mujahideen. He attended Martin County High School for one year and also St. Lucie West Centennial High School, where a schoolmate said he was bullied. He reportedly held two degrees in science […]

Donald Carr (1926 - 2016)

Donald Carr was the son of J. L. Carr, an officer of the Royal Berkshire Regiment, who was serving with the British Army of the Rhine in Germany. He went to Forres Boarding School in Swanage (the headmaster, R. M. Chadwick, a former opening bat for Dorset Minor Counties 1st XI, coached him) and then […]

Ron Mason (1940 - 2016)

Ron Mason played junior hockey with the Ontario Hockey Association’s Peterborough Petes and the Ottawa Junior Canadians. From there Mason enrolled at St. Lawrence University in the upstate town of Canton, New York where he lettered in hockey for three years. In his first season at SLU in 1960-61, Mason and the Skating Saints were […]

Joe Dowell (1940 - 2016)

Joe Dowell (January 23, 1940 – February 4, 2016) was an American pop singer. He was born in Bloomington, Indiana, but moved to Bloomington, Illinois, as a child. He first performed at a ninth-grade talent show, and later attended the University of Illinois. At his first recording session (backed by organist Ray Stevens), he sang the […]

Mark Farren (1982 - 2016)

Mark Farren began his football career with a largely unsuccessful period, throughout which he was dogged by injury, in the youth setup at Tranmere Rovers. Following this and a spell at Huddersfield Town, he returned to his home county to play for Finn Harps. After only one substitute League appearance in the 2000–01 League of […]

Joe Alaskey (1952 - 2016)

Joe Alaskey was occasionally seen onscreen impersonating Jackie Gleason, with whom he shared a physical resemblance. In the 1980s, Gleason personally chose Alaskey to re-record selected dialogue from the “lost episodes” of The Honeymooners found in Gleason’s private collection. After Gleason died, he watched the project get shelved. In 1985, Alaskey provided various voices for […]

Bob Elliott (1923 - 2016)

Bob Elliott was born in Winchester, Massachusetts, the son of Gail Marguarite (née Brackett), a needleworker, and Fred Russell Elliott, who worked in insurance. On radio, he appeared in programs with his long-time partner Ray Goulding. These were in different series and time slots over decades, beginning in the late 1940s at Boston’s WHDH radio […]

Thomas Tigue (1945 - 2016)

Thomas M. Tigue (August 24, 1945 – February 1, 2016) was an American politician, a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He is a 1964 graduate of St. John’s High School and earned a degree in government from King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania in 1968. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps in the […]

Kitty Kallen (1921 - 2016)

Kitty Kallen (May 25, 1921 – January 7, 2016) was an American popular singer whose career spanned from the 1930s to the 1960s,to include the Swing era of the Big Band years, the post-WWII pop scene and the early years of rock ‘n roll. She performed with some of the most popular big bands of […]

Bill Plager (1945 - 2016)

William Ronald “Bill” Plager (July 6, 1945 – January 3, 2016) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman. Before playing in the NHL, Bill Plager played for the Peterborough Petes in Peterborough, Ontario, where he met his wife Donna Hickey. Plager started his National Hockey League career with the Minnesota North Stars in 1967. He also played […]

Stephen Bosworth (1939 - 2016)

Stephen Bosworth was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1939. He graduated with a B.A. in international relations (1961) and an honorary doctorate (1986) from Dartmouth College. He was also a graduate student at George Washington University. He has two brothers, Brian Bosworth (head of the corporation FutureWorks) and Barry Bosworth (involved in advertisement). Prior to […]

John Hunter (1931 - 2016)

John Hunter Jr. (July 13, 1931 – January 4, 2016), known by the stage name Long John Hunter, was an American Texas blues and electric blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He released seven albums in his own name, and in his later years found critical acknowledgement outside of his homeland. Hunter’s best known tracks are […]

Matt Hobden (1993 - 2016)

As a youngster, Matt Hobden played for Glynde & Beddingham Cricket Club; in 2009, he was part of the team that won the National Village Cricket Knockout Final at Lord’s. In 2012, Hobden started playing for Preston Nomads Cricket Team, and was part of the team that won the 2012 Sussex Premier League. Hobden’s last […]

Mike Oxley (1944 - 2016)

Mike Oxley was born in Findlay, Ohio and received a bachelor of arts degree from Miami University in 1966 and a law degree from Ohio State University in 1969. He was a member of the Alpha chapter of the Sigma Chi fraternity at Miami. From 1969 to 1972, Oxley worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation […]

Donny Everett (1997 - 2016)

Donny Everett (April 16, 1997 – June 2, 2016) was an American baseball pitcher. He attended Vanderbilt University, where he played college baseball for the Vanderbilt Commodores. He was considered one of the top prospects for the 2015 Major League Baseball draft. Everett drowned during his freshman season at Vanderbilt. Donny Everett attended Clarksville High School […]

Bobby Curtola (1943 - 2016)

Bobby Curtola began performing at age 15 with a band called Bobby and the Bobcats, singing at high school assemblies. Over the subsequent years, the singer had many songs on the Canadian music charts beginning with “Hand In Hand With You” in 1960. He was backed by the Corvettes, a group who changed their name […]

Phyllis Curtin (1921 - 2016)

Born Phyllis Smith in Clarksburg, West Virginia, Phyllis Curtin studied singing with Olga Averino at Wellesley College where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science. She pursued graduate studies in vocal performance under Boris Goldovsky at the New England Conservatory. In 1946 she made her professional opera debut with Goldovsky’s opera company, the New […]

Jerome Bruner (1915 - 2016)

Jerome Bruner was born on October 1, 1915 in New York City, to Herman and Rose Bruner, who emigrated from Poland. He received a bachelor’s degree in psychology, in 1937 from Duke University, and went on to earn a master’s degree in psychology in 1939 and then a doctorate in psychology in 1941 from Harvard […]