Monday 16th of May 1611

Innocentius XI aka The Blessed is born as Benedetto Odescalchi in Como, Lombardia, Italy.

Monday 16th of May 1785

Child killer Caleb Adams is born in Leyden, Massachusetts, United States.

Monday 16th of May 1836

27-year-old Writer of mystery and the macabre Edgar Allan Poe marries 14-year-old Virginia Eliza Clemm in Richmond, Virginia, United States.

Clemm was Poe's cousin. They were married by a Presbyterian minister named Rev. Amasa Converse.

Thursday 16th of May 1861

Serial killer Henry Howard Holmes aka The Torture Doctor is born as Herman Webster Mudgett in Gilmantown, New Hampshire, United States.

Wednesday 16th of May 1877

Pathologist Bernard Henry Spilsbury is born in 35 Bath Street, Royal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, United Kingdom.

Thursday 16th of May 1878

Serial poisoner Lydia Sherman aka The Derby Poisoner dies of cancer at the age of 54 in Wethersfield State Prison, Wethersfield, Connecticut, United States.

Sherman poisoned eight children in her care (6 of which were her own) and her three husbands

Tuesday 16th of May 1905

Actor Henry Jaynes Fonda is born in Grand Island, Nebraska, United States.

Sunday 16th of May 1915

Film director Mario Monicelli is born in Rome, Lazio, Italy.

Friday 16th of May 1919

Pianist and entertainer Liberace aka The Glitter Man aka The King of Bling is born as Władziu Valentino Liberace in West Allis, Wisconsin, United States.

Sunday 16th of May 1920

508-year-old Heroine Jeanne d'Arc aka La Pucelle d'Orléans is canonised Saint by Pope Benedict XV in Basilica di San Pietro, Rome, Lazio, Italy.

Sunday 16th of May 1920

Actress Martine Carol is born as Marie-Louise Jeanne Nicolle Mourer in Saint Mandé, Val-de-Marne, France.

Saturday 16th of May 1925

Entertainer, entrepreneur, singer-songwriter and professional whistler Bobbejaan Schoepen is born as Modest Schoepen in Boom, Antwerpen, Belgium.

Friday 16th of May 1930

Gertrud Bell is attacked by serial killer Peter Kürten aka The Vampire of Düsseldorf in Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany.

Kürten reasoned that she had not attempted to fight him, and because she could not remember where he lived, he took her to the train station and walked away. The woman wrote a letter to a friend to tell her of the horrible incident, but since it was undeliverable, the letter was opened by a postal worker. The police were notified immediately. They questioned the young woman and then she led them to Kurten’s home, and then he was arrested on 24 May 1930.

Friday 16th of May 1930

Physicist and research manager Karl Heinz Beckurtz is born in Rheydt, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany.

Monday 16th of May 1938

Actor Jack Virgil Dougherty commits suicide carbon monoxide poisoning at the age of 43 in Hollywood, California, United States.

Tuesday 16th of May 1944

Henry Gein is presumably beaten to death and thrown into a fire by his brother 38-year-old Murderer and body snatcher Ed Edward Theodore Gein aka America’s Most Bizarre Murderer in Plainfield, Wisconsin, United States.

Henry and Ed were burning away marsh vegetation on the property. The fire got out of control and Henry was found afterwards. It appeared that the cause of death was heart failure, but later it was reported that Henry had bruises on his head.

Wednesday 16th of May 1951

Singer-songwriter Jonathan Michael Richman known from The Modern Lovers is born in Natick, Massachusetts, United States.

Thursday 16th of May 1957

American Prohibition agent Eliot Ness known for his legendary team of law enforcement agents nicknamed The Untouchables dies of a heart attack at the age of 54 in Coudersport, Pennsylvania, United States.

In one popular yet false anecdote Ness died just as he was about to have the first alcoholic drink of his life.

Saturday 16th of May 1964

39-year-old Wiener Aktionist Otto Muehl performs 'Materialaktion nr. 8 / Stillleben' in Perinetkeller, Perinetgasse 1, Wien, Wien, Austria.

Monday 16th of May 1966

Singer-songwriter Janet Damita Jo Jackson is born in 2300 Jackson Street, Gary, Indiana, United States.

Wednesday 16th of May 1973

Artist Jacques Lipchitz dies of unknown causes at the age of 82 in Capri, Campania, Italy.

Friday 16th of May 1975

36-year-old Mountaineer Junko Tabei known for becoming the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest becomes the first woman to reach the summit in Mount Everest, Sagarmatha, Nepal.

Friday 16th of May 1975

Revolutionary black activist Michael X aka Abdul Malik is executed by hanging at the age of 42 in Royal Jail, 103A Frederick Street, Port-of-Spain, Metropolitan Area, Trinidad.

Friday 16th of May 1975

9/11 terrorist Khalid Muhammad Abdallah al-Mihdhar is born in Mecca, Makkah l-Mukarramah, Saudi Arabia.

Tuesday 16th of May 1978

41-year-old Vera Evelyn Millward aka Anne Brown aka Mary Barton is hammered and stabbed to death by serial killer Peter Sutcliffe aka The Yorkshire Ripper in Manchester Royal Infirmary, Manchester, Greater Manchester, United Kingdom.

Wednesday 16th of May 1984

Writer and playwright Irwin Shaw dies of prostate cancer at the age of 71 in Davos, Graubünden, Switzerland.

Wednesday 16th of May 1990

Actor, singer and entertainer Sammy Samuel George Davis Jr. dies of throat cancer at the age of 65 in Beverly Hills, California, United States.

Davis often smoked four packs of cigarettes a day as an adult. When told that laryngectomy offered him the best chance of survival Davis replied he would rather keep his voice than have a part of his throat removed; he subsequently was treated with a combination of chemotherapy and radiation. His entire larynx however was ultimately removed during surgery in March 1990.

Wednesday 16th of May 1990

Puppeteer, cartoonist, screenwriter and film director Jim James Maury Henson known for creating The Muppets dies of organ dysfunction resulting from streptococcal toxic shock syndrome caused by Streptococcus pyogenes at the age of 54 in New York Hospital, New York City, New York, United States.

Wednesday 16th of May 1990

Dag Drollet is shot dead by 32-year-old Only child of actor Marlon Brando and Anna Kashfi Christian Devi Brando at the age of 26 in 12900 Mulholland Drive, Hollywood Hills, California, United States.

Drollet was engaged to Brando's pregnant half-sister Cheyenne.

Saturday 16th of May 1992

Astrologer Howard Sasportas dies of AIDS at the age of 44 in London, Greater London, United Kingdom.

Friday 16th of May 1997

Double murderer Harry Charles Moore is executed by lethal injection at the age of 56 in Oregon State Penitentiary, Salem, Oregon, United States.

Moore's last meal request was for two green apples, two red apples, a tray of fresh fruit, and two 2-liter bottles of Coke.

Friday 16th of May 1997

Murderer Clifton Eugene Belyeu is executed by lethal injection at the age of 39 in Huntsville Prison, 815 12th Street, Huntsville, Texas, United States.

Belyeu’s last meal request was for a cheeseburger, French fries, Coke and a pack of cigarettes, which were prohibited by policy.

Thursday 16th of May 2002

Child killer Ronford Lee Styron is executed by lethal injection at the age of 33 in Huntsville Prison, 815 12th Street, Huntsville, Texas, United States.

Styron's 11-month-old son Lee Hollace died as a result of subdural hemorrhaging due to trauma to the head. The fatal injuries were the culmination of a long pattern of abusive behavior, including punching him in the face, dunking him in ice water, squeezing him hard enough to break his ribs, and shaking him hard enough to cause retinal hemorrhages. The victim's older injuries included at least 10 broken bones. Styron also stuffed tape into the child's mouth to quiet him and palmed the child's head like a basketball, thus dangling the child like a puppet. Styron's last meal request was for a Mexican platter with all the works, two classic Cokes, pickles, olives, and Cookies and Cream ice cream.

Wednesday 16th of May 2007

Cop killer Charles Edward Smith is executed by lethal injection at the age of 41 in Huntsville Prison, 815 12th Street, Huntsville, Texas, United States.

Wednesday 16th of May 2007

Preparing for a performance in Finland by filling a wooden box with earth from my Hole in Antwerpen, Antwerpen, Belgium.