Saint Bernadette Soubirous (1844 - 1879)

Bernadette (the sobriquet by which she was universally known) was the daughter of François Soubirous (Francés Sobirós in Occitan) (1807–1871), a miller, and Louise (Loïsa Casteròt in Occitan) (1825–1866), a laundress. She was the eldest of nine children—Bernadette, Jean (born and died 1845), Toinette (1846–1892), Jean-Marie (1848–1851), Jean-Marie (1851–1919), Justin (1855–1865), Pierre (1859–1931), Jean (born […]

Saint André Bessette (1845 - 1937)

He was born Alfred Bessette in Mont-Saint-Grégoire, Quebec, a small town situated 40 kilometres (25 mi) southeast of Montreal. Bessette was the eighth of 12 children (four of whom died in infancy). He was so frail when he was born that the curé baptized him “conditionally” the following day, completing an emergency ritual performed at […]

Saint Alberto Hurtado (1901 - 1952)

Alberto Hurtado Cruchaga was born in Viña del Mar, Chile, on 22 January 1901; he was orphaned when he was four years old by the death of his father. His mother had to sell, at a loss, their modest property in order to pay the family’s debts. As a further consequence, Alberto and his brother […]

Saint Mary MacKillop (1842 - 1909)

Mary Helen MacKillop was born on 15 January 1842 in what is now the Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, Victoria (at the time part of an area called Newtown in the then British colony of New South Wales) to Alexander MacKillop and Flora MacDonald. Although she continued to be known as “Mary”, when she was baptised […]

Gene Anderson (1939 - 1991)

Gene Anderson Anderson was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota and started wrestling in 1961 after being trained by Verne Gagne. In late 1965, he formed the Minnesota Wrecking Crew with fellow collegian Lars Anderson as his “brother”. They wrestled in the Florida territories and won some tag team titles together. Gene then reformed the tag […]

Junkyard Dog (1952 - 1998)

Junkyard Dog Throughout the years, many men have made the transition from the football gridiron to the squared circle. Perhaps none, however, have ever done it with the panache of one Sylvester Ritter, a man better known to sports-entertainment fans as the Junkyard Dog. Before entering the ring, the near 300-pound Ritter was a standout […]

Rick Rude (1958 - 1999)

Rick Rude former wrestling superstar – commentator and manager “Ravishing” Rick Rude (Richard Rood) has died at the age of 41. Reports say Rude died on Tuesday, April 20, 1999 but the details surrounding his death remain unknown at press time. Unconfirmed reports say that he may have had a heart attack. Known for his […]

Jay Youngblood (1955 - 1985)

Jay Youngblood American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Jay Youngblood. He wrestled in the National Wrestling Alliance‘s Jim Crockett Promotions in a tag team with Ricky Steamboat. In addition, he wrestled with Florida Championship Wrestling and the American Wrestling Association. Romero started wrestling in 1975 in Amarillo under a mask and calling […]

Andre the Giant (1946 - 1993)

Andre the Giant Professional wrestler and actor, born Andre Rene Roussimoff, on May 19, 1946, in Grenoble, France. Roussimoff suffered from acromegaly, or “giantism,” a endocrynological disorder that causes the body to secrete excessive amounts of growth hormones and produces continual growth, especially in the head, hands, and feet. He reportedly inherited the disease from […]

Wahoo McDaniel (1938 - 2002)

Wahoo McDaniel Wahoo McDaniel, who capitalized on his American Indian heritage as a football player and then a professional wrestler, died last Thursday at a hospital in Houston. He was 63. McDaniel was on the waiting list to receive a kidney when he died because of complications arising from renal failure, the National Football League […]

Ernie Ladd (1938 - 2007)

Ernie Ladd Ladd started wrestling in 1961. As a publicity stunt, some wrestlers in the San Diego area challenged Ladd to a private wrestling workout. Before long, Ladd was a part-time competitor in Los Angeles, during football’s off-season. Ladd became a huge draw in short order. When knee problems cut his football career short, Ladd […]

Haystack Calhoun (1934 - 1989)

Haystack Calhoun Born on August 3, 1934, William Dee Calhoun grew up on a farm in McKinney, Texas; a rural suburb located in Collin County about 30 mi (48 km) north of Dallas. William was an unusually large child with an extraordinary appetite, it was said that he regularly ate a dozen eggs for breakfast; and by […]

Johnny Valentine (1928 - 2001)

Johnny Valentine Wisniski was originally from Maple Valley, Washington. He was a devout Christian for many years. He was married to a woman named Sharon, who plans to write a book titled A Never Ending Love Story of a Wrestler and His Wife about their life together. He also had a son, Greg Valentine, who […]

Johnny Weaver (1935 - 2008)

Johnny Weaver Funerals are never fun to attend. But there was something uplifting about what took place at Johnny Weaver’s funeral. That was due largely to the honest and moving words delivered by two who eulogized him, and the grace of a grieving daughter still wounded by the sudden and unexpected loss of her father. […]

Randy Savage (1952 - 2011)

Randy Savage was an American professional wrestler and occasional color commentator best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). He is considered to be one of the greatest pro wrestlers in history. Savage won 20 championships during his 32-year career. He held six world championships between the […]

Big John Studd (1948 - 1995)

Big John Studd Studd jumped to the World Wrestling Federation in late 1982, and was paired with manager “Classy” Freddie Blassie. Studd quickly became a monster heel, adopting a gimmick of bringing a stretcher to the ring and beating his opponents so badly they would be taken out on the stretcher. While Studd became a […]

Adolph Ochs (1858 - 1935)

Adolph Ochs Ochs was born to a Jewish family in Cincinnati, Ohio, on March 12, 1858. His parents Julius Ochs and Bertha Levy were both German immigrants. His father had left Bavaria for the United States in 1846. He was a highly educated man and fluent in six languages which he gave instruction in at […]

Millicent Fawcett (1847 - 1929)

Millicent Garrett was born on 11 June 1847 in Aldeburgh to Newson Garrett, a warehouse owner, and his wife Louise Dunnell. Her parents Newson and Louisa Garrett were of a highly privileged background, he was a wealthy merchant and ship owner. Newson and Louise had six daughters and four sons, including Millicent and Elizabeth, later […]

Sam Shockley (1909 - 1948)

Richard Samuel “Sam” Shockley Jr. (January 12, 1909 – December 3, 1948) was an inmate at Alcatraz prison who participated in the Battle of Alcatraz in 1946.  Shockley was the son of Richard “Dick” Shockley and Anna Bearden. He was born in Arkansas City, Arkansas. Shockley was arrested for bank robbery and kidnapping in Oklahoma […]

James Mitose (1916 - 1981)

James Mitose James Masayoshi (Masakichi Kosho Kenposai) Mitose was born in Kailua-Kona, North Kona District, Hawaii on December 30, 1916. On October 22, 1920, at the age of four, he and his two sisters were taken by their mother back to Japan to be given formal education and upbringing with family living there. While there, […]

Louise Peete (1880 - 1947)

Peete’s family was relatively wealthy, and she received an expensive education, but was expelled from school for inappropriate behavior. In 1903, she married a traveling salesman named Henry Bosley; he committed suicide after discovering his wife with another man. She then spent time in Boston, working as a high-class prostitute and stealing from her clients. […]

Leavander Johnson (1969 - 2005)

Leavander Johnson was an American lightweight boxer from Atlantic City, New Jersey, who once held the International Boxing Federation version of the world title. He won the title on June 17, 2005, against the Italian fighter Stefano Zoff, winning after the referee stopped the fight in the seventh round. Johnson made his debut as a […]

Jack Johnson (1878 - 1946)

Jack Johnson Boxer. First African-American to hold the heavyweight boxing championship in the world. Until his fight with Burns, discrimination limited Johnson’s opportunities and purses. When he became champion, a hue and cry for a “Great White Hope” produced numerous opponents. At the height of his career Johnson was excoriated by the press for having […]

Laurence Olivier (1907 - 1989)

Laurence Olivier Laurence Olivier could speak William Shakespeare‘s lines as naturally as if he were “actually thinking them”, said English playwright Charles Bennett, who met Olivier in 1927. Laurence Kerr Olivier was born in Dorking, Surrey, England, to Agnes Louise (Crookenden) and Gerard Kerr Olivier, a High Anglican priest. His surname came from a great-great-grandfather […]

Stephen Wayne Anderson (1953 - 2002)

Anderson had been incarcerated for one count of aggravated burglary in 1971 and three counts of aggravated burglary in 1973. While incarcerated at Utah State Prison, Anderson murdered an inmate, assaulted another inmate, and assaulted a correctional officer. Anderson also admitted to six other contract killings in Las Vegas, Nevada that happened prior to the […]

Barbara Graham (1923 - 1955)

Graham was born Barbara Elaine Ford in Oakland, California to young unwed mother Hortense Ford. On February 23, 1925, Hortense Ford gave birth to a second daughter out of wedlock, Claire Elizabeth. Hortense Ford later married a man by the name of Joseph Wood, whose surname was then given to Barbara and Claire. Hortense had […]

Robert Alton Harris (1953 - 1992)

Robert Alton Harris was born at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, the fifth of nine children of Kenneth and Evelyn Harris. Kenneth was a sergeant in the United States Army who was awarded a Silver Star and Purple Heart for his service in World War II. Both parents were alcoholics, and Robert reportedly was born […]

Black Bart (2026 - 1888)

Charles Bowles was born in Norfolk, England to John and Maria Bowles (sometimes spelled Bolles). He was the third of ten children, having six brothers and three sisters. When Charles was two years old, his parents emigrated to Jefferson County, New York, where his father purchased a farm, four miles north of Plessis Village in […]

Harvey Glatman (1927 - 1959)

Born in the Bronx to a Jewish family and raised in Colorado, Glatman exhibited antisocial behavior and sadomasochistic sexual tendencies from an early age. At the age of 12, his parents noticed he had a red, swollen neck, and he described being in the bathtub, placing a rope around his neck, running it through the […]

Mack Ray Edwards (2026 - 1971)

Mack Ray Edwards was born in Arkansas. He moved to Los Angeles County in 1941. As a heavy equipment operator contracted by Caltrans, he worked on freeways. The body of one of his victims was found underneath the Santa Ana Freeway, and he claimed to have disposed another of his victims under the Ventura Freeway. […]