Category Archives: History

History

Criminal History: Manson Cult Kills Sharon Tate, Others (8-9 Aug 1969)

Beginning near midnight on August 8 and in the early morning of August 9 1969, Sharon Tate, the wife of movie director Roman Polanski, was killed along with four others in their Beverly Hills home. The murders made national headlines and two days later a second series of murders would occur. The savage murders were done by followers of Charles Manson and the murders would make him a criminal icon.

Sharon Tate, 1967
Author Unknown
Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

Charles Manson was born in 1934 to an unwed 16-year-old mother; he would never know his father. After his mother was imprisoned for armed robbery, he went to live with an aunt and uncle in West Virginia. He would spend much of his youth getting into trouble and being put into prison in his early adult years. He moved to California in 1967 after being released from jail. In San Francisco he used his charm and other things to attract a small group of followers from the youth rebelling the standards of the day. By 1968, he had become the head of a group who called themselves his “Family.”

Manson’s beliefs were an odd mix of religion, fringe psychology, and even science fiction. He believed in a coming apocalyptic race war that would devastate the country. Blacks would rise up to kill whites but would still need a leader after it was done. Manson would become that leader and his Family would be the nucleus of a new order. He would adopt the term “Helter Skelter,” taken from the Beatles’ record White Album, to refer to this order.

Charles Manson, April 1968 mugshot
Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

While he was not present when the murders occurred, he certainly planned and directed it. Roman Polanski was not the target on 8 August, and he was out of town during that period of time. His intended target was Terry Melcher, a music producer that had been introduced to him through a chance encounter with Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys. Manson was a singer-songwriter and one of his songs had been performed by them (though uncredited for it). Melcher considered and then decided to not produce a record by him. Melcher had leased the home that Polanski and his pregnant wife Sharon Tate now occupied.

Sharon Tate was a fledging actress who had come to fame in Valley of the Dolls (1967) and also in the British horror-comedy The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967). While her husband Roman was off in Europe shooting a movie, Tate, now eight months pregnant, was living in the home with his friend Wojciech Frykowski and his girlfriend Abilgail Frykowski (coffee heiress). On 8 August Manson ordered Charles “Tex” Watson and several other members of the family to go there and kill everyone as gruesome as possible. They would arrive near midnight or just a little after and encounter Steve Parent, an 18 year old boy visiting the caretaker, in his car and kill him. Then Watson, Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Linda Kasabian entered the main house. There were four people in the home-Tate, Frykowski, Folger and celebrity hairstylist Jay Sebring. They were assembled in the living room.

Sebring was both shot and stabbed to death. Frykowski and Folger managed to escape but were tracked down and killed by Krenwinkel and Watson. Sharon Tate was stabbed to death after being hung from a ceiling beam. The rope was found wrapped around her neck and there were no post-mortem injuries found. Her blood was used to write the word “PIG” on the front door. The following night Manson ordered that grocery store executive Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary be murdered. Manson was involved in this action as he and Watson tied up and robbed. He then left with three others of his Family leaving Watson, Leslie van Houten, and Patricia Krenwinkel in the home. They stabbed the couple to death and left words written in blood on the walls.

The murders shocked Los Angeles considering that Frykowski had been stabbed fifty times as well as shot. The police were baffled as to the motives and who the assailants were. The two crimes were not connected at first. There was a belief that a drug transaction gone bad may have led to the gruesome deaths at the Polanski home. What broke the case and connected both murders were the arrests of Manson’s family at the Spahn Ranch in Death Valley for vehicle theft and burning equipment. One of those arrested would implicate Susan Atkins in a murder. Atkins apparently boasted of the Tate murders to cellmates. All of the killers would be arrested including Charles Manson. Although he did not personally commit the murders, he ordered his Family to do them. All were brought to trial in June 1970. Linda Kasabian was given full immunity and was the main prosecution witness. All were convicted of murder and given the death penalty. However, those sentences were changed to life imprisonment when capital punishment was abolished in 1972. Although eligible for parole at various times, none of their requests were granted. Charles Manson would die in prison in 2017 at age 83.

Sources

Bauer, P. (2024, August 1). Tate murders | Victims, Perpetrators, & Facts. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/Tate-murders

Jenkins, J. P. (2024, July 28). Charles Manson | Biography, Murders, Family, Sharon Tate, & Facts. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-Manson

Mullen, M. (2021c, August 6). Charles Manson cult kills five, including actress Sharon Tate. HISTORY. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/manson-cult-kills-five-people

Suggested Reading

Bugliosi, V., & Gentry, C. (2001). Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders. W. W. Norton & Company. I highly recommend this book as it covers all the details of the case. And a lot of background investigation as well. The author was the actual prosecutor on the case.

Guinn, J. (2014). Manson: The Life and Times of Charles Manson. Simon and Schuster.

Statman, A., & Tate, B. (2013). Restless souls: The Sharon Tate Family’s Account of Stardom, the Manson Murders, and a Crusade for Justice. It Books.

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History

The Case of Lizzie Borden (4 Aug 1892)

[Editors note: This was updated from last year to correct punctuation, grammar, updated sources, and suggested reading.]

Lizzie Borden took an axe
And gave her mother forty whacks;
And when she saw what she had done
She gave her father forty-one.

The sensational murder trial of Lizzie Borden would galvanize the nation but ended up in her acquittal in 1893.

Lizzie Borden
Circa 1889, photographer unknown
Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

Lizzie Borden and her older sister Emma were the daughters of a well-to-do businessman Andrew Borden of Fall River, Massachusetts. Their mother died when they were young, and he married Abby Gray who ended up raising them to adulthood. Their father, though wealthy, was not liked by a lot of people in the community. He was seen as both parsimonious (a fancy word meaning excessively frugal) and dour. Both daughters grew to dislike their stepmother believing she was trying to enrich herself over their father’s money. Lizzie was well liked in the community and involved in charitable works. Both daughters helped manager their father’s properties.

The home of Lizzie Borden, 92 Second St, Fall River, MA 1892
Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

On Thursday 4 August 1892, Andrew Borden left home to conduct business. In the home was the maid Bridget Sullivan, his wife Abby, and his daughter Lizzie. Emma was out of the home on business of her own. Andrew would return later than morning and lie down on the couch to take a nap. Lizzie would him dead on the couch around 11:15 am. His head had been repeatedly hit by a sharp object and there was considerable amount of blood. Police were summoned and it was during this time it was discovered the stepmother was found dead face down in the guest room. Her head had been horribly mutilated. Police interviewed Lizzie but she gave conflicting statements. A search of the basement found two hatchets, two axes, and a hatchet-head with a broken handle with the latter the suspected murder weapon. It appeared to have been coated with ash and other things to make it look like it had not been used for a while.

The police failed to make a full search of the house at the time. Lizzie went to stay with a friend of her sister. Later she was seen by a police officer detailed to guard the house entering the cellar with this friend and seemed to be hunched over a sink. The police learned that Lizzie had tried to get hydrocyanic acid in a diluted form from a drugstore. There had been a recent mysterious illness in the home that raised the possibility of poisoning. Both bodies were tested and found no poison in them. The illness may have been food poisoning from contaminated meet rather than a deliberate poisoning. However, since Andrew Borden was not well liked, his wife had suspected that perhaps someone in Fall River had poisoned them.

The police focused on Lizzie Borden as the likely suspect due to her contradictory statements, the attempt to purchase a poison, the burning of a dress, and the hatchet-head that was found during a more through search later on. She would be arrested and formally indicted in December 1892. However, her trial would not begin until June 1893. Just before her trial started, another sensational murder done with an axe occurred. It bore striking similarities to the Borden case but a suspect was caught and arrested. It was on the minds of many in the courtroom when the trial started.

Unfortunately for the prosecution, all the evidence they had was circumstantial. There was no direct proof she had handled the axe that killed the Borden parents. Nor was the burning of a dress she said had been covered in paint as well proof she did the murder. While everyone knew she and her sister did not like her stepmother much, proving she had done the murders was hard to do. The police had failed to gather any fingerprints. This had become more common especially in Europe, but the local police didn’t believe in its use. So, they lacked any fingerprint evidence that might have helped in prosecuting Lizzie Borden. And the jury as a result acquitted her on 20 June 1893 since the evidence was not strong enough to convict on.

Aftermath
Lizzie Borden would continue to live in Fall River for the rest of her life, though in a different home with her sister Emma. Both sisters, after all the probate was concluded, received their inheritance from their father’s estate. Lizzie changed her name to Lizbeth A. Borden. The new home they moved into was more modern and they also have live -in servants and a coachman. Fall River mostly ostracized her and apparently had little involvement in the community afterwards. Her sister Emma would move out in 1905 after they argued over a party Lizbeth held for an actress. Emma would never see her sister again. Both sisters remand reclusive until they both died. Lizbeth died of pneumonia on 1 June 1927. Emma died 9 days later at her home in New Hampshire from chronic nephritis as a result of a fall she suffered ironically on the day her sister died. Both are buried in the family plot at the Oak River Cemetery in Fall River.

Speculation over the murders continues to this day with Lizzie the prime suspect. Motivations for the murders, aside from disliking the stepmother are many. Highly speculative theories exist without much or any proof offered. There is an unproven allegation that the maid on her death bed many years later that she had changed her testimony to help Borden. John Morse, Lizzie’s maternal uncle, was sleeping in the house the night before, was also considered a suspect by the police but had an alibi that disproved in their eyes he was the murderer. The maid Bridget Sullivan is considered a suspect as well. It is thought she may have gotten angry with them over tasks they asked her to do and killed them. One author has suggested it was William Borden, Andrew Borden’s illegitimate son who had tried to extort money from his father Emma too is considered a possibility as she secretly snuck into the house, killed her parents, and then quickly returned to Fairhaven to receive the telegram of her parents’ murders.

The Borden House still stands as both a museum and a bed and breakfast. The Fall River Historical Society has pieces of evidence used in the trial at the Fall River Historical Society.

Sources

Crime Museum, LLC. (2021, May 18). Lizzie Borden – Crime Museum. Crime Museum. https://www.crimemuseum.org/crime-library/famous-murders/lizzie-borden/

Lizzie Borden. (2024, February 22). Biography. https://www.biography.com/crime/lizzie-borden

Mullen, M. (2021b, August 3). Lizzie Borden’s parents found dead. HISTORY. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/borden-parents-found-dead

Lizzie Borden. (2023, May 5). Official Lizzie Borden House. Home – Lizzie Borden. https://lizzie-borden.com/

Suggested Reading

Miller, S. (2019). The Borden Murders: Lizzie Borden and the Trial of the Century. Yearling.

Spencer, W. D. (2022). Lizzie Borden Uncut: A Casebook of Theories.

Robertson, C. (2020). The Trial of Lizzie Borden. Simon & Schuster.

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History

Remembering History: Warsaw Uprising Begins (1 Aug 1944)

Rare Agfacolor photo (invention from 1936) dated August 1944 taken in Warsaw, Poland in the Old Town Market Place during Warsaw Uprising in August 1944
Ewa Faryaszewska (1920-1944)
Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

On 1 Aug 1944 Poles in Warsaw launched a major uprising against the Nazi occupation. The Soviet Army had advanced to the Vistula River on the eastern suburb of Warsaw prompting the revolt. Polish General Tadeusz Bor-Komorowski, commander of the Home Army (an underground resistance group of around 40,000). The Home Army had ties to the government-in-exile in London, which was anti-communist. The hope was to gain at least partial control of Warsaw before the Soviets arrived.

By this time, the German Army had been pushed back considerably from its gains in Russia. And their taking Warsaw seemed likely. Despite this, Adolf Hitler ordered that the uprising be suppressed at all costs. The Nazi SS directed the defense force and engaged in brutal street fighting. The Polish Home Army fought back hard despite having limited supplies and no support from the Soviet Army (which cause friction between Poland and the Soviet Union for years).

The Red Army did capture several bridgeheads across the Vistula River in preparation to take Warsaw but held back doing anything more. Only under intense pressure from British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and American President Franklin Roosevelt did Stalin relent and allow Allies to drop supplies to the rebels. But it was too late as by that time, both the rebels and the citizens ran out of food, supplies, and medical supplies. The uprising came to an end on 2 October when the remaining forces surrendered. The revolt had lasted 63 days but the cost for both sides was high. An estimated three-fourths of the Home Army died along with 200,000 civilians. The Germans suffered 10,000 dead, 9,000 wounded, and 7,000 missing. In keeping with their dislike of the Polish people (they were seen as just a notch above the Jews but were slated for either slavery or death by the Nazis) the survivors were deported.

Deploying demolition squads, most of the remaining intact buildings in Warsaw would be destroyed over the next several months. All of Warsaw’s treasures were looted, burned, or destroyed. Meanwhile the Red Army sitting outside Warsaw did nothing to stop the Germans. They would not move until January 1945 when their final offensive was launched. On 17 January 1945, the ruins of Warsaw were liberated by the Soviets who faced little or no opposition. Thus, making it easy for them to establish a Communist state in Poland. After suffering from Nazi occupation, the Polish people would suffer a longer one under the Communists.

 

Sources:

History

Agricultural Disaster: Grasshoppers Devastate Midwest (26 July 1931)

Headline from Iowa City Press-Citizen, 27 Jul 1931
Source: NotesonIowa.com

On 26 July 1931 swarms of grasshoppers would descend on the American Midwest resulting in millions of acres of farmland to be destroyed.

In 1931 the United States was in the throes of the Great Depression with many out of work, rural banks closing, capital to invest in industries limited, and the cost of living hard for most Americans. The American Midwest, which supplied much of the nation’s needed grain and other foods, was hit hard not only by the bad economic times but a drought as well. Agriculture faces many threats but one of the most serious are voracious insects such as grasshoppers and locusts. There had been such pestilence before in America. There had been one in July 1874 when Rocky Mountain Locusts swarmed through North Dakota to Texas destroying crops. There too the Midwest was beset by drought, which is considered to be a cause of large swarms being formed to find food.

Locusts and grasshoppers are similar to each other, can look the same in many cases, but have differences as well. Both belong to the same family- Acrididae- and can look the same but have differences as well. Grasshoppers are found worldwide while locusts are generally found in Africa and Asia. Both are solitary meaning after they are born, except for mating, they do not have much contact with others of their kind. Both eat plants and will devour the entire plant. Grasshoppers tend to eat a more varied diet than locusts. Both however can swarm when foods become scarce. Locusts though actually change color, unlike grasshoppers, when they swarm. Both though are a pestilence to farmers.

By July 1931, severe drought had devastated Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota. On July 26, swarms of grasshoppers descended and began eating all the cornstalks right down to the ground. The swarms were so massive that they actually blotted out the sun in some areas. They covered everything and seemed everywhere. You could not walk without stepping through them as they ate their way across the land. Anything that stored grains, unless well sealed, would be targeted as well if they could find a way in.

Photo of grasshopper devastation on Iowa farm July 1931
Source: NotesonIowa.com

The result were farms completely devastated once the grasshoppers were finished. The grasshoppers consumed every part of the cornstalk leaving nothing behind before they moved on. President Hoover allocated federal aid to help farmers after the crisis. However, the combined problems of the drought, the Great Depression, and the grasshoppers caused many to close up and move elsewhere to start over. Grasshoppers are still a threat today, somewhat minimized with pesticides, but can still swarm when drought limits their food supply.

Footnote
There was a major grasshopper swarm near Albuquerque, New Mexico in 2014. Due to drought and limited vegetation, the swarm headed to both urban and suburban centers. The swarm was so thick that it was picked up on radar. The grasshoppers destroyed or damaged home lawns, outdoor gardens, and just like in 1931 were everywhere.

ABC News. “Grasshopper Swarms so Dense They Show up on Radar.” ABC News, 2 June 2014, www.abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2014/06/grasshopper-swarms-so-dense-they-show-up-on-radar

Sources

Grasshopper Plague of the Great Plains – Legends of Kansas. (n.d.). https://legendsofkansas.com/grasshopper-plague/

Green, J. (2021, May 14). The Most Devastating Plagues in US History Caused by Insects. 24/7 Wall St. Retrieved July 25, 2024, from https://247wallst.com/special-report/2021/05/14/the-most-devastating-plagues-in-us-history-caused-by-insects/

Mason, K. (2022, July 27). Iowa History Daily: July 27 – Great Grasshopper Horde of ’31. Notes on Iowa. https://www.notesoniowa.com/post/iowa-history-daily-july-27-great-grasshopper-horde-of-31

Sullivan, M. (2024e, July 23). South Dakota governor begs for federal assistance over grasshopper plague. HISTORY. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/grasshoppers-bring-ruin-to-midwest

Documentaries

Nebraska Public Media. (2012, May 11). A Plague of Locusts | Nebraska Stories [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=To48K5E4ULM

The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered. (2020, August 17). The Great Kansas Grasshopper Plague of 1874 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxqgBWxLZa0

Suggested Reading

Atkins, A. (1984). Harvest of Grief: Grasshopper Plagues and Public Assistance in Minnesota, 1873-78. Minnesota Historical Society.

Lockwood, J. A. (2005). Locust: The Devastating Rise and Mysterious Disappearance of the Insect that Shaped the American Frontier. Basic Books.

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History

Remembering History: Mussolini Ousted (25 July 1943)

Benito Mussolini
Public Domain

On 25 Jul 1943 the Fascist Grand Council formally voted Mussolini from power and was arrested later after meeting with King Victor Emmanuel III. So, what happened to the once all-powerful Duce? Let’s find out.

Italy had entered into the Pact of Steel with Germany in 1939 which committed Italy to fighting along with Germany if it declared war or was attacked. Mussolini entered the agreement knowing full well Italy did not have the resources or industrial capability for a sustained military conflict. Mussolini had grand ambitions about expanding the Italian sphere of influence in the region and even into central Europe. Mussolini believed that Fascism was on the march and aligning with Hitler seemed a good choice at the time. Italy had successfully invaded Ethiopia (1935-1937) though not without them putting up a strong fight. Using mustard gas against troops and civilians had gotten Mussolini severely criticized and international sanctions.

The war in Ethiopia and his intervention on the side of Franco in the Spanish Civil War had brought Italy closer to Germany with a treaty of mutual interest in 1936.  And he needed coal from Germany since international sanctions over Ethiopia had made acquiring it more difficult. Mussolini believed a German-Rome Axis would be how Europe would turn but relying on Germany to supply items like coal meant Italy was more dependent on Germany rather than a true partnership. Mussolini tried to get all kinds of concessions from the British and French after the Munich Agreement in 1938; none were given. He made it clear in speeches (and those by others) that they wanted territory in France, Tunisia, a small part of Switzerland, and Albania. He upped his demands to demand free access to the world’s oceans by breaking British control of key places such as Gibraltar.

From the viewpoint in London, Paris, and elsewhere, his bellicose talk signaled major territorial ambitions. The Fascists mostly supported this though some, like his foreign minister Count Galeazzo Ciano, were concerned about aligning with Germany. Taking on both Britain and France became accepted since they were the major colonial powers that Italy saw as blocking them from achieving their rightful position in the world. On 7 April 1938, Italy invaded Albania and took control in three days. The formal military alliance with Germany (the Pact of Steel) was signed on 2 May 1939 cementing further the military ambitions of both countries together. The Italians thought war with Britain and France would not occur for years but dreadfully miscalculated Hitler’s ambitions.

Italy was not ready for major war operations until 1942 according to his own advisors. The Pact of Steel had said neither side was to enter war until 1943. Italy desperately needed this time in order to get its industry running and lacked critical military industrial production. Both Britain and France had highly developed military industrial production, but Italy was woefully behind in key areas such as automobile production (key to making tanks and other mobile artillery). Additionally, Italy needed to acquire all the needed raw resources needed for war production. Italy was primarily an agriculturally based economy with small pockets of industrial sectors. They needed to setup a supply chain to bring in all the raw materials like coal and import steel. Italy’s merchant marine was not managed in preparation for war and would lose those ships as they were in foreign ports when war was declared by Italy in 1940.

Prior to that, raw materials being sent from European ports to Italy were subject to seizure. Coal, for instance, was shipped out of Rotterdam. The British declared it contraband and seized it, infuriating Mussolini. The Germans offered to ship by train over the Alps while the British countered saying they would supply all of his country’s needs if Italy supplied them armaments. The British hoped to lure Italy away from its alliance with Germany. And it appeared to work as Mussolini had approved a draft contract to provide military equipment. It was suddenly scrapped under intense pressure from Germany caused Mussolini to fold. This decision would come back to haunt him much later down the road.

Italian debt, already large when Mussolini, came to power, had increased thanks to his generous support of General Franco in Spain that increased it. The blockade of coal was strengthened and deeper reliance on German imports of raw materials occurred. The economy was bolstered by the important of goods from Germany, but inflation was occurring causing basic goods and service to become more expensive. When Italy entered the war in 1940, its merchant marine in foreign ports were seized leaving the country without hardly any means of getting needed supplies by cargo vessels.

Adding more to the woes, the warnings of his advisors were accurate. Italy’s army was huge making it a major land force on paper but in reality, lacked modern transport and weapons. The army, because of the weak economy, did not have the needed armaments or supplies for war, and was the major reason it failed. Lightly armored infantry is no match for a fully equipped company of troops with full battle-ready equipment like the British had. Along with both a navy and air force that did not work together well, Italy was ill-prepared for general warfare except for a country that had a worse military than it had. There was poor leadership as well at the top that never had clearly defined military objectives and seemed to go at the whim of whatever Duce wanted them to do. They easily took the lower portions of Vichy France and Corsica. About the only good thing they did in taking that was providing a refuge for fleeing Jews. The Italians did not follow the German lead much regarding the Jews, which caused the Germans frustration over the Italian non-compliance in this area.

The succeeding campaigns in North Africa and Greece ended badly. In North Africa the British put up a good fight and had routed the Italians. Then the Germans arrived with Rommel in charge making it a much tougher campaign for the British and later the Americans; Greece was a total debacle. They invaded from Albania, but the Greeks pushed them back into Albania ending up in a stalemate that cost both sides. Once again, the Germans invaded (the British were using Greece to fly bombing raids into Romania) and successfully took Greece and Crete. Only Yugoslavia was a success but that was because the Germans were part of the campaign and once the country was divided up, Italy got the coastal area.

By 1943 though, things had gotten worse for most Italians. Food and other items were rationed, wartime inflation made everything more expensive, and the war itself was unpopular with most Italians. Mussolini was no longer seen as the great leader and the recent bombing of Rome showed how his boasts were hollow. The invasion of Sicily and later the south by Allied forces showed the proverbial “writing was on the wall.” Mussolini knew that his military could not successfully fight the Allies but stuck to the war because he saw no other option but to fight it out. The Fascist Grand Council knew the war was lost and that Mussolini had lost his stature with the people.

On the night of 24 July and in the early morning of 25 July, the Grand Council met with Mussolini. Accounts of the meeting indicate he was sick, tired, and felt the burden of the military reverses suffered by the Italian military. To some, it seemed he was looking for a way out and it was given to him. The Grand Council voted to remove him from power and transfer some of his duties to the King. While some opposed it, the vote was carried by the majority. Even his son-in-law Count Galeazzo Ciano voted for his ouster. Mussolini seemed dazed by the vote and while his supporters tried to get him to act, he seemed unable to do anything. He would go to his meeting with the King (unshaven and groggy) where he would be arrested. The King told him that General Pietro Badoglio would be taking over as Prime Minister and that the war was lost. He and his family were assured of their safety, and he was whisked away. Mussolini accepted his fall as it absolved him of any more responsibility for the war.

When it was declared Mussolini was out, the general response was one of relief. His fellow Fascists did not stage marches or protests over his dismissal and did nothing to release him from his incarceration on La Maddalena (he would be moved elsewhere). Hitler was furious and knew that the Italians would seek an armistice with the Allies (which was true but in public said otherwise to keep the Germans at bay). For the Allies his dismissal was good news as they hoped it might bring an end to the Italian campaign. And many Italians thought it would as well, Unfortunately the Germans had other plans and that would drag out the war in Italy until June 1944, but that is a story for another time.

Sources:

Foot, J., & Hibbert, C. (2024, July 8). Benito Mussolini | Biography, Definition, Facts, rise, & Death. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Benito-Mussolini

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2009, March 18). Pact of Steel | Italy–Germany [1939]. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/Pact-of-Steel

Mullen, M. (2020b, July 23). Benito Mussolini falls from power. HISTORY. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/mussolini-falls-from-power

Italy between 1922-1945 – The Rule of Mussolini. (n.d.). Life in Italy. Retrieved July 23, 2024, from https://lifeinitaly.com/italy-between-1922-1945-the-rule-of-mussolini/

Warfare History Network. (2023, November 29). Mussolini’s Fall from Power – Warfare History Network. https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/mussolinis-fall-from-power/

Axis Alliance in World War II. (n.d.). https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/axis-powers-in-world-war-ii

Wikipedia contributors. (2024d, July 23). Military history of Italy during World War II. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_history_of_Italy_during_World_War_II

Suggested Reading

Bosworth, R. J. B. (2006). Mussolini’s Italy: Life Under the Dictatorship, 1915-1945. Penguin Press HC.

Haynes, D. (2023). A brief history of Italy: Tracing the Renaissance, Unification, and the Lively Evolution of Art and Culture.

Hearder, H., & Morris, J. (2001). Italy: A Short History. Cambridge University Press.

Hibbert, C. (2008). Mussolini: The Rise and Fall of Il Duce. St. Martin’s Griffin.

Kertzer, D. I. (2015). The Pope and Mussolini: The Secret History of Pius XI and the Rise of Fascism in Europe. Random House Trade Paperbacks.

Moseley, R. (1999). Mussolini’s shadow: The Double Life of Count Galeazzo Ciano. Yale University Press.

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History

Remembering History: The Failed Plot to Kill Hitler (20 July 1944)

Martin Bormann, Hermann Göring, and Bruno Loerzer surveying the damaged conference room
20 Jul 1944
Source: German Federal Archives via Wikimedia Commons

On 20 July 1944 a bomb placed in the briefing room of  Wolf’s Lair would explode in an attempt to kill Hitler. It failed and many of the conspirators, including Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, would either be executed or commit suicide. So, who were the conspirators and why did it fail? Let’s find out.

The conspirators were a combination of both civilians and military and had varying reasons for coming together. Some opposed the anti-Jewish policies and were shocked by Kristallnacht; others were upset with how Hitler had mismanaged the war. Many wanted to save Germany from a catastrophic defeat they saw coming. Some of them no doubt would have faced a military tribunal had they survived for war crimes for working or assisting with the elimination of Jews. An earlier plot to kill Hitler on his airplane had failed, so the plan was changed. Called Operation Valkyrie, the plan was to take control of cities, disarming the SS, and arresting Nazi leaders.

Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg was to place a bomb under a table at the East Prussian headquarters called Wolf’s Lair. Then once Hitler was confirmed dead, a radio announcement would go out saying that the Nazi Party had murdered Hitler and ordering the Reserve Army to take control of key installations in Berlin, arresting Nazi leaders. Carl Friedrich Goerdeler, former mayor of Leipzig would become chancellor with former army chief of staff Ludwig Beck becoming president. Then the new government would begin negotiating for an armistice.

Stauffenberg arrived with two bombs on 20 Jul 1944 but was unable to arm one of them. In the briefing room where military aides were briefing Hitler, he placed the briefcase with the bomb under the table and near Hitler. He excused himself and left the room. Unfortunately, the briefcase was moved to under a thick leg of the table. When it detonated at 12:42 PM, Stauffenberg believed Hitler had been killed and put Operation Valkyrie into action. Hitler was wounded but not killed but the stenographer and three officers died. However instead of acting right away, many of the conspirators waited until Stauffenberg arrived in Berlin three hours later. By that time rumors of Hitler’s survival sapped the courage of many to go through with their plans. Precious time was lost, and it was too late now.

General Friedrich Fromm, who knew of the plot and condoned it, quickly saved himself by arresting the key conspirators and executing them. Hitler would go on the radio on 21 July 1944 to announce his survival to the nation and that those who had done this would be taken care of. The Gestapo swung into action arresting and torturing the remaining conspirators. Some were hauled before the infamous Volksgericht (People’s Court). There the infamous Nazi judge Roland Freisler handed out death sentences. Some were hung or shot, and a few were strangled with piano wire. Fromm did not escape eventually being arrested, tried, and executed. General Beck was allowed to commit suicide but only wounded himself and had to be shot. The surprising revelation that Field Marshal Erwin Rommel was involved (he knew of the plot but took no active role in its planning or execution) shocked Hitler. Due to his popularity-and to avoid a trial-he was told if he committed suicide his family would be spared. Upon his death from an “illness”, he was given a full military funeral.

The assassination attempt did not weaken Hitler but strengthened it. His grip was tightened, and they went after not just those involved but other enemies, they could get rid of at the same time by claiming they were part of the plot as well. Over 7,000 were arrested and 4,980 were executed. The barbaric deaths of some by piano wire was specifically ordered by Hitler.

Sources

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2024e, July 13). July Plot | History, leaders, executions, & Facts. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/July-Plot

Fails, A. P. a. H. (2020, July 17). Assassination plot against Hitler fails. HISTORY. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/assassination-plot-against-hitler-fails

The July 20, 1944, plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler. (n.d.). https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-july-20-1944-plot-to-assassinate-adolf-hitler

Suggested Reading

Allen, W. S. (1984). The Nazi Seizure of Power: The Experience of a Single German Town, 1922-1945. Franklin Watts.

Gregory, D. A. (2018). After Valkyrie: Military and Civilian Consequences of the Attempt to Assassinate Hitler.McFarland.

Jones, N. (2019). Countdown to Valkyrie: The July Plot to Assassinate Hitler. Frontline Books.

Keegan, J. (2005). The Second World War. Penguin Books.

Schmidt, E. (2021). The Hitler Conspirator: The Story of Kurt Freiherr von Plettenberg and Stauffenberg’s Valkyrie Plot to Kill the Fuhrer. Frontline Books.

Shirer, W. L. (2011). The Rise and Fall Of The Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany. Simon and Schuster.

Titanic News Channel is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

History

Remembering History: Rome Bombed by United States (19 Jul 1943)

[Editors note: This has been updated from 2023 with updated source information.]

Daily News, Los Angeles- Headline on Bombing of Rome
Source: RareEarlyNewspapers.com All Rights Reserved

By 1943, Italians had seen shortages in basic goods and supplies requiring rationing as their merchant marine had been decimated by the war. This led to a lot of grumbling about the war and its effects on Italy. Mussolini’s popularity had begun to wane. He had convinced Italians that the Allies would never bomb the eternal city of Rome. Then on 19 July 1943, the U.S. bombed the Rome railway yards.

Both President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill had made a public appeal for Italians to reject Mussolini and save their country. The Allies by this time had invaded Sicily, and thanks to a clever deception, Hitler thought it initially a diversion. The Axis had been furthered weakened by its defeat in North Africa which had seen losses by both German and Italian forces. The advance of the Allied troops shook the Italian government. The bombing of Rome really caused panic in Rome as people went out into the streets.

It was much worse though as panic gave way to anger at Mussolini. People started destroying effigies of the dictator. And oddly, there was actually celebration of the attack as it was seen as leading to Mussolini’s demise. Hitler met with Mussolini to shore up his confidence after the attack. The attack had shaken him as well. Mussolini appeared unusually quiet in the meeting (he spoke poor German) and relied on the transcript later. Hitler tried to restore his confidence worried he might cave in and seek an armistice with the Allies. In the end, Mussolini agreed to continue the war though by this time he knew the truth. The Italian army was beaten and there was no way they could win the war. He could not tell that to Hitler fearing what he might do in response.

Hitler for his part was concerned that either Mussolini would surrender, or his own people might remove him. He quietly ordered Rommel to take control of the Greek islands in case something went wrong in Rome. The Germans would be ready to pounce when it did. And events happened faster than expected. Within a week the Fascist Grand Council would relieve Mussolini and he was put under arrest by the King.

Sources

Mullen, M. (2020, July 16). America bombs Rome. HISTORY. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/america-bombs-rome

This day in History: The Americans Bomb Rome (1943) – History collection. (n.d.). History Collection. https://historycollection.com/day-history-americans-bomb-rome-1943/

Americans bomb Rome in 2-hour daylight raid – UPI Archives. (1943, July 19). UPI. https://www.upi.com/Archives/1943/07/19/Americans-bomb-Rome-in-2-hour-daylight-raid/6801563205263/

MarshallV. (2022, May 22). The Allied Campaign in Italy, 1943-45: A Timeline, Part one. The National WWII Museum | New Orleans. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/allied-campaign-italy-1943-45-timeline-part-one

 

History

Remembering History: Storming the Bastille (14 Jul 1789)

The Storming of the Bastille by Jean-Pierre Houël (1735–1813)
National Library of France
Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

On 14 July 1789, the storming of the Bastille, a formidable stone prison originally built to protect the eastern entrance to Paris, is considered the launch of the French Revolution and celebrated as a holiday in France. The prison often held political prisoners and was seen as a sign of tyranny. By this time in 1789, the prison only held seven prisoners none of whom were of a political nature. Four were charged with forgery and two were considered mad or lunatics. The Bastille was actually being scheduled for demolition to make way for public square.

France was facing economic and social problems. Louis XVI had inherited considerable debt from his predecessor but continued to spend (along with his wife Marie Antoinette) considerable sums of money further deepening government debt. Crop failures in 1788 led to a national famine and the cost bread prices to soar. Unemployment was a factor as well and many thought they had lost jobs due to lessening of customs duties with England (resulting in more jobs there than in France). With violent food riots breaking out, King Louis XVI tried to resolve it through the Estates-General (a national assembly of clergy, nobility and the common person).

While in theory all three were equal, two of the other parts could outvote the third. This left many deputies upset demanding a greater voice and proclaiming their own National Assembly. This would lead to the famous Tennis Court Oath of 20 June 1789 not to separate until they had a constitution. Many nobles and clergy crossed over to this National Assembly which Louis XVI gave consent to. His ordering of army regiments into Paris though made many fear he was going to break up the assembly by force. The dismissal of Jacques Necker, a non-noble minister for the government on 11 July, triggered massive protests and destruction of custom posts. Custom posts were hated as they imposed taxes on goods.

On 14 July a mob seized muskets and cannons from a military hospital and then decided to get more at the Bastille. The governor of the Bastille saw the mob and invited them in to discuss terms of surrender. Outside the crowd grew restless awaiting word and it is possible some thought the delegates had been arrested. A group climbed over the outer wall and climbed in to open the drawbridge to the courtyard. The governor broke his pledge not to fire and bullets rang out killing 100 outright leaving others wounded. The royals only lost one soldier. The arrival of the French Guards, sympathetic to the mob, would force the governor to surrender after having cannons blasting away at the Bastille. Without adequate provisions, he surrendered the Bastille. Some of the royalist troops would be butchered after the surrender. The governor was taken prisoner and beheaded by the mob.

Aftermath

The Bastille was dismantled, and its only prisoner later would be Louis XVI. He would be executed on 21 January 1793 along with his wife. The French Revolution, once thought a means to reform France into a constitutional monarchy, slid into a revolutionary government that completely overturned the ancien regime. During its tenure, it became increasingly bloody killing off enemies of the new order. Anyone who was thought to disagree with them could be denounced and executed. Instead of creating a better stable system, it became one long food riot as one professor said to me once. And the revolutionaries fought amongst themselves as to who was the better one to lead. That led to more bloody executions and the guillotine became the image of the French Revolution. Ultimately the people tired of this turmoil and wanted order. And it would come from Napoleon Bonaparte, but that is another story.

 

Sources

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2024c, July 11). Bastille Day | Definition, history, traditions, celebrations, & facts. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Bastille-Day

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2024a, May 17). French Revolution | History, Summary, timeline, causes, & facts. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/French-Revolution

Mullen, M. (2023, July 14). Bastille Day – Definition, Date & facts | HISTORY. HISTORY. https://www.history.com/topics/european-history/bastille-day

Suggested Reading

Clarke, S. (2019). The French Revolution and What Went Wrong. Arrow.

Davidson, I. (2018). The French Revolution. Pegasus Books.

Dickens, C. (1998). A Tale of Two Cities. Courier Corporation.

Doyle, W. (2018). The Oxford History of the French Revolution. Oxford University Press.

De Tocqueville, A. (2020). The State of Society in France Before the Revolution of 1789: And the Causes Which Led to That Event (H. Reeve, Trans.). Independently Published.

Palmer, R. R. (2017). Twelve Who ruled: The Year of Terror in the French Revolution. Princeton University Press.

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History

Remembering History: Anne Frank’s Family Takes Refuge (6 Jul 1942)

May 1942 photo for passport
Anne Frank House, Amsterdam.
Public Domain via Wikipedia Commons

After receiving word that they would be deported to a Nazi work camp, Ann Frank and her family take refuge in a secret annex of an Amsterdam warehouse. Her family was from Germany and fled in 1933 to Holland to escape Nazi persecution. The Netherlands declared its neutrality but that did not stop the Germans from invading on 10 May 1940. After the bombing of Rotterdam, its military forces surrendered, and its government and royal family fled to London. Germany would occupy the country until the German surrender in May 1945.

The initial phase of the occupation was mild and often called the “velvet glove” where Germans under Arthur Seyss-Inquart did not impose the harsher rules of occupation found in other countries. The economy was doing well, and repression of the Jewish population was light. Starting in June 1941, that changed as Germany started demanding more from the occupied territories which lowered the standard of living. Repression of Jews began now in earnest as many were now deported to extermination camps.

Otto Frank had come to Amsterdam from Germany in 1933 with his wife Edith and their two daughters Margot and Anne. He worked for Opetka, which sold pectin and spices for jam production. A second company he started, Pectacon, sold wholesale spices, pickling salts, and herbs for sausage production. As things got more tense with Germany, he tried, unsuccessfully to move his business to Britain. When the occupation came and German laws about making businesses Aryan, he transferred ownership to his employees to keep it out of German hands. He unsuccessfully sought to emigrate to the United States.

Otto approached his bookkeeper, Miep Gies, to see if she could help hide his family. He also asked other employees to assist as well in bringing food to them in the secret annex hidden behind on a movable bookshelf. Another family, Van Pels would join them later as would Fritz Pfeffer making 8 people in total hiding in the Secret Annex.

For the next two years Ann would record in her diary her thoughts, humor, insight, and what was going on inside the annex. There were a lot of disagreements between the various people living together and Anne records how her father acted as a peacemaker. For two years they kept quiet during the day as people worked below and Nazi patrols were out on the streets. It all came to an end on 4 August 1944 when Dutch police officers with a member of the SS in charge raided the Secret Annex and arrested them all. Two employees were also arrested. They were all sent to Auschwitz, including the two men who had helped them. When Otto got off the train in Auschwitz, it was the last time he saw his wife and children. He would learn after the war his wife died in Auschwitz. Both Margo and Ann were moved to the Bergen-Belson concentration camp in Germany, where they both perished of typhus.

Otto would be the only one to survive and returning to Amsterdam he was given Anne’s diary by Miep Gies. After reading it, he was advised by others who had read it to have it published. It took a while, but it was first published in 1947 and into English in 1952. It has since then been translated into 70 languages and became a best seller and acclaimed movie. The diary stands as a testament to the six million Jews whose lives were taken by the Holocaust.

 

Sources

Anne Frank. (2024, February 27). Anne Frank Website. https://www.annefrank.org/en/anne-frank/

Andrews, E., & Andrews, E. (2023a, August 3). Who betrayed Anne Frank? HISTORY. https://www.history.com/news/who-betrayed-anne-frank

Sullivan, M. (2024d, July 1). Anne Frank’s family takes refuge. HISTORY. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/frank-family-takes-refuge

Suggested Reading

Frank, A. (1993). The Diary of Anne Frank (B. M. Mooyart, Trans.). Bantam.

Gies, M., & Gold, A. L. (2009). Anne Frank Remembered: The Story of the Woman Who Helped to Hide the Frank Family. Simon & Schuster.

Sullivan, R. (2022). The Betrayal of Anne Frank: A Cold Case Investigation. Harper.

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History

Remembering History: The Chicago White Sox Accused of Throwing World Series (5 Jul 1921)

“Fix these faces in your memory” cartoon that ran in newspapers in 1920 after the scandal broker in 1920.
Source: Anderson, Wayne (2004) “The Fix” in The Chicago Black Sox Trial: A Primary Source Account, Great Trials of the Twentieth Century, New York, United States: The Rosen Publishing Group
Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

The 1919 World Series between the Chicago White Sox and the Cincinnati Reds has been forever tainted by allegations that the game was thrown by some White Sox team members being paid by a gambling syndicate being run by Arthur Rothstein. The scandal changed baseball forever resulting in imposition of new rules of player conduct and putting into power a baseball commissioner who would preside like a dictator over baseball for decades. So, what happened? Let’s find out.

The White Sox were heavily favored to win the game in 1919 but many players were upset with being underpaid by team owner Charles Comiskey. It is believed that first baseman Chick Gindil may have initiated contact and through intermediaries New York gambler Arnold Rothstein offered money for the players to lose some of the games intentionally. Rumors of game fixing began on the first day of the game (1 Oct 1919). A lot of money was being placed against the Reds, which raised suspicions. The rumors reached the press box which started getting sports writers interested. As the games went on, plays were being watched more carefully and what the players were doing (or rather, not doing right). By Game 5 though, those involved were upset that they had not be paid and won Games 6 and 7. The gamblers struck back, and threats were made against the players and the families. Game 8 was lost by the Sox ending the series. The main conspirators received $5,000 each with Chick Gandil, who was the one who initiated the scheme, receiving $35,000.

Rumors swirled into the 1920 season and newspaper stories of corruption in other ball clubs emerged as well. Finally what appeared to be a rigged regular season game between the Cubs and the Phillies in August 1920 led to a grand jury being convened in September to investigate the 1919 World Series. Pitcher Eddie Cicotte confessed to his role and signed a waiver of immunity. Shoeless Joe Jackson soon testified to receiving $5,000 from his teammates. Lefty Williams and Oscar Felsch also confessed as well.  In October indictments for conspiracy were handed down for seven members of the White Sox, forever dubbed the Black Sox:

  • Arnold “Chick” Gandil (1st Base)
  • Eddie Cicotte (Pitcher)
  • Claude “Lefty” Williams (Pitcher)
  • Charles “Swede” Risberg (Shortstop)
  • Oscar “Happy” Felsch (Outfielder)
  • “Shoeless” Joe Jackson (Outfielder)
  • Fred McMullin (Infielder)
  • Buck Weaver ( 3rd Base)

The media and the public were unforgiving. Numerous stories appeared on how they sold out baseball and baseball fans over what happened. It was a major public relations nightmare for both the American and National leagues (back then they were separate unlike today). The trial took a mysterious turn when signed confessions and other documents mysteriously disappeared from the Cook County Courthouse. Both Cicotte and Jackson retracted their confessions, and without direct evidence what the jury heard were second hand or hearsay accounts. White Sox player “Sleepy Bill” Burns gave the most damning testimony when he said that Rothstein was involved and Cicotte had said he would fix the game. White Sox owner Charles Comiskey, who many felt had mistreated his players by not paying his player enough and not paying promised bonuses, was grilled on the stand so hard by the defense counsel that he became enraged. The jury got the case on 28 Jul and returned with a not guilty verdict three hours later.

Baseball Owners Respond

Prior to the jury verdict and even before the scandal broke out, the baseball team owners wanted to change how things were run. A National Commission governed the sport, but they realized things had to change. One suggestion was to get a recognized federal judge to sit on this commission and help direct baseball in a better direction. They looked at noted baseball fan and federal judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, but he demanded that he be made sole commissioner with nearly unchecked powers as commissioner. Although there were misgivings, the baseball owners agreed to his demands and made him the sole commissioner. This was unheard of back then as usually you wanted power vested in a group rather than one person. Landis would rule baseball from 1920-1944 and he would rule it with an iron fist. He would be the first and the last commissioner to have unchecked powers as he did.

Commissioner Landis Sets a New Tone for Baseball

Landis speaking at a church in 1921 is reported as saying he would tolerate any crooks in baseball.

Now that I am in baseball, just watch the game I play. If I catch any crook in baseball, the rest of his life is going to be a pretty hot one. I’ll go to any means and to anything possible to see that he gets a real penalty for his offense.

Like everyone else, he watched how the federal trial was going on against the White Sox players. When evidence disappeared requiring some charges to be dropped and new ones added (McMullin was dropped in the new charges), Landis responded by putting all eight on the ineligible list, banning them from major and minor league baseball. Comiskey released the seven who still were under contract, so they were effectively barred from professional baseball. However, Jackson, Williams, Felsch, and Weaver were able to play in a semi-pro game though sports writers heavily criticized it and the public for attending.

The acquittal seemed to end it and everyone in a celebratory mood afterwards. Both players and the jury went to an Italian restaurant and celebrated, it is said, long into the night. Their joy was short lived though. The following day (3 Aug 1921) Commissioner Landis issued the following statement:

Regardless of the verdict of juries, no player that throws a ball game; no player that undertakes or promises to throw a ball game; no player that sits in a conference with a bunch of crooked players and gamblers where the ways and means of throwing ball games are planned and discussed and does not promptly tell his club about it, will ever play professional baseball. Of course, I don’t know that any of these men will apply for reinstatement, but if they do, the above are at least a few of the rules that will be enforced. Just keep in mind that, regardless of the verdict of juries, baseball is competent to protect itself against crooks, both inside and outside the game.

 With that statement, Landis set a standard that still applies to this day. No ball player who colludes with gamblers or promises to throw a ball game is going to find a home in baseball. And even if a jury acquits them, baseball is the final arbiter of who can and cannot play. Now one can argue that if a person is legally acquitted of a crime of conspiracy to throwing a game, he should be welcomed back. Except that Landis knew, as did others, that there were signed confessions out there that mysteriously disappeared, and they recanted confessions after they vanished. The jury never got to see those confessions, which likely would have made a difference in the outcome. Unlike someone who steadfastly says he is innocent and is proven at trial that someone else was, the evidence here was certainly conclusive that they had conspired to through the game for gamblers.

Landis refused to reinstate any of the eight even with a lot of support and statements that perhaps they had been misled, their baseball stats from the games showed they had not thrown the games, or other reasons. To this day their expulsions stand despite sympathy for Jackson and Weaver. Landis moved to crack down on any association with gambling. Two team owners who had purchased a racing horse track had to sell it. Other baseball players who associated themselves in any way with gamblers or gambled on the game were struck off and out of the game. Also playing baseball outside of the season for pay was discouraged without permission from Landis.

Babe Ruth got into hot water with Landis for not getting his permission and for a while made him ineligible to play again for the Yankees until Landis met with him. Landis was also strict with the team owners making them disclose holdings they had in minor leagues and to honor their contracts with players. He was not a fan of the farm system, but it has become the way most teams develop promising players for the major leagues. While apparently a liberal on racial matters, he upheld the unofficial ban on black ballplayers playing in professional baseball and forbade teams from playing black baseball teams (though it was done unofficially). While it is debatable how racist Landis was, there were indications many players were and would not tolerate nor accept a black ballplayer. Perhaps, and this is not an excuse for his actions, Landis feared ugly incidents in the club house that would do more damage to the sport than gambling did.

Sources

Andrews, E., & Andrews, E. (2023, August 24). What was the 1919 ‘Black Sox’ baseball scandal? HISTORY. https://www.history.com/news/black-sox-baseball-scandal-1919-world-series-chicago

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2024b, June 21). Black Sox Scandal of 1919 | Summary, trial, players, & facts. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/Black-Sox-Scandal

Lamb, B. (2022, September 14). The Black Sox scandal. https://sabr.org/journal/article/the-black-sox-scandal/

Wikipedia contributors. (2024b, June 26). Black Sox scandal. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Sox_Scandal