Tragedies Princess Diana to JFK Kennedy Assassination

JFK was shot (November 22, 1963)

The President and Jacqueline Kennedy were in an open limousine riding slowly in a motorcade through downtown Dallas, Texas.

At about 12.30 p.m. the presidential limousine entered Elm Street. Soon afterwards shots rang out. John F. Kennedy was hit by bullets that hit him in the head and the left shoulder. Another bullet hit John Connally in the back. The first Lady frantically tried to crawl out of the moving car.

Seconds after the first shots had been fired the president's car accelerated at high speed towards Parkland Memorial Hospital.

Both men were carried into separate emergency rooms. Connally had wounds to his back, chest, wrist and thigh. Kennedy's injuries were more serious. He had a massive wound to the head and at 1 p.m. he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival at Parkland Memorial Hospital.

The most popular American president was dead. Video footage of the assassination was taken by a bystander. So all of America was witness to this crime.

Vice President Lyndon Johnson took the oath as president at 2:38 pm.

Witnesses at the scene of the assassination claimed they had seen shots being fired from behind a wooden fence on the Grassy Knoll and from the Texas School Book Depository. The police investigated these claims and during a search of the book depository they discovered on the floor by one of the sixth floor windows, three empty cartridge cases. They also found a Mannlicher-Carcano rifle hidden beneath some boxes.

A worker at the book depository Lee Harvey Oswald was seen in the Texas School Book Depository before 11:55 a.m. and just after 12:31 p.m. Oswald was seen leaving the building and by 1.00 p.m. arrived home.

His landlady, Earlene Roberts, testified before the Warren Commission that Oswald stayed only a few minutes but while he was in the house a Dallas Police Department car parked in front of the house. In the car were two uniformed policemen. Roberts described how the driver sounded the horn twice before driving off. Soon afterwards Oswald left the house.

Lee Harvey Oswald, a 24-year-old Dallas citizen, was accused of the assassination. Two days later Oswald was shot to death by Jack Ruby, a local nightclub owner with connections to the criminal underworld, in the basement of a Dallas police station.

Some believe Oswald's embrace of communism, his strong belief in Fidel Castro and the Cuban revolution and a desire to be recognised as an important person provoked him to kill President Kennedy. Kennedy disliked Fidel Castro and it was rumored that the United States might try to assassinate the Cuban dictator.

Conspiracy theories swirled. Many believed the attack was not by a lone gunman and there must have been more than one person involved.

A presidential commission headed by the chief justice of the United States, Earl Warren, later found that neither the sniper nor his killer “was part of any conspiracy, domestic or foreign, to assassinate President Kennedy,” but that Oswald had acted alone.

Princess Diana’s Death (August 31^st 1997)

Diana's royal story began when the shy former kindergarten teacher married Prince Charles on July 29th 1981. Diana was only  20 years old at the time. As soon as Diana Spencer became engaged to Prince Charles, she became an object of fascination to the public.

In the years to come Princess Diana was targeted mercilessly by the paparazzi and was constantly photographed and filmed by the press. Diana later admitted that she struggled with bulimia, self injury, and depression partly due to being publicly scrutinized.

Diana became the most popular Princess of our time. A tall slender blond who was attractive in a nontraditional way; gracious and charming to the public she became the "People's Princess".

Diana and Charles had two sons William then Harry.

The marriage fell apart and the two divorced in 1996 both claiming infidelity. But even after the divorce with Prince Charles Diana maintained a high level of popularity. She devoted herself to her sons and charitable efforts such as the battle against the use of land mines. Diana used her international celebrity to help raise awareness about this issue.

She also continued to experience the negative aspects of fame. Her 1997 romance with Egyptian film producer and playboy Dodi Al-Fayed created a media frenzy.

In 1997 Diana died in a horrific car crash after being chased by paparazzi. News of her sudden, senseless death shocked the world. Sadly Diana left behind her two young sons William and Harry.

The official details of the accident were Diana, Princess of Wales, died as a result of injuries sustained in a car collision in the Pont de l'Alma road tunnel in Paris, France. Al-Fayed and the driver were also killed, and a bodyguard was seriously injured. French authorities investigated the crash and the driver was found to have a high level of alcohol in his system at the time of the accident. The role of the pursuing photographers in the tragedy was also scrutinized.

Thousands turned out to pay tribute to the "people's princess" during her funeral procession. The funeral was held at Westminster Abbey, which was broadcast on television. Her body was later buried at her family's estate, Althorp.

Ted Kennedy what happened on Chappaquiddick 1969

The scandal occurred during a Regatta Weekend reunion party at a friend's cottage on Island off Martha’s Vineyard. The party consisted of all married men (except one) and six women the "boiler room girls" who had worked together on Robert Kennedy's 1968 presidential campaign.

Ted Kennedy attended the party. After a day of sailing and heavy drinking he borrowed his chauffeur's keys to his Oldsmobile limousine, and offered to give a ride home to Mary Jo Kopechne, a campaign worker.

On the way to the ferry Kennedy lost control of the car and drove his black Oldsmobile sedan off a small wooden bridge into Poucho Pond, trapping Mary Jo in seven feet of water.

Kennedy got out of the car alive, Mary Jo Kopechne did not. He claims he dived down several times to try to rescue her, before walking back to the cottage where his friends were staying. He passed four houses with working telephones, including one 150 yards from the accident with a porch light on as well as a firehouse with a pay phone.

When he got to the cottage none of the women were told what happened.

He and two men, a cousin named Joseph Gargan and a friend named Paul Markham say they returned to the bridge to try and rescue Mary Jo unsuccessfully. Next, the men claimed that they drove Kennedy to the Chappaquiddick ferry landing, where he told them not to tell the other women for fear that they would try to rescue Mary Jo and harm themselves. He assured the men them that he would report the incident to authorities.

The men said, Kennedy dove into the water and swam across the sound to Edgartown himself. After reaching Edgartown, Kennedy went to his room at a local inn it was now 2:25 a.m. where he spent the night.

Gargan and Markham showed up about 7:30 am. They asked him who he'd called about the accident he had still not called anyone.

Kennedy later explained "I just couldn't gain the strength within me, the moral strength, to call Mrs. Kopechne at 2 in the morning and tell her that her daughter was dead."

Kennedy called for advice on his situation from advisors, but not to report the accident. It was 9 am. In the meantime Mary Jo’s body was still floating in the overturned car.

At 10 am Kennedy finally entered the police station in Edgartown to report the accident. By this time the car had already been found by fisherman.

Not reporting a fatal traffic accident is a felony in most places. After an investigation of the accident the only punishment issued by the state of Massachusetts was a citation for Kennedy’s excessive speed on the bridge, the court suspended his license for six months.

Kennedy's lawyers arranged for him to plead guilty to leaving the scene of the accident involving personal injury with a two-month suspended sentence and one year probation. No further charges were brought against the senator although an inquest raised numerous questions about Kennedy's account of the events.

OJ Simpson was acquitted (October 3, 1995)

On June 12, 1994 Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman are stabbed to death. Their bodies are found in the front courtyard of Nicole's condominium in Brentwood Ca.

Evidence seemed to point to Nicole's ex husband former NFL star O.J. Simpson. There was a history of violence between OJ and Nicole. Nicole had called 911 in the past during her fights with OJ. She feared for her safety.

Exactly what happened sometime after ten o'clock on the Sunday night of June 12, 1994 is still not clear, but most likely a single male came through the back entrance of Nicole Brown Simpson's condominium on Bundy Drive in the prestigious Brentwood area of Los Angeles. In a small, nearly enclosed area near the front gate, the man brutally slashed Nicole, almost severing her neck from her body.

Then he struggled with and repeatedly stabbed Ronald Goldman. Ronald Goldman was a 25 year old acquaintance of Nicole's, who had come to her condominium to return a pair of sunglasses that her mother had left earlier that evening at the Mezzaluna restaurant.

Just after midnight, Nicole's howling Akita, with blood on its belly and legs, attracted the attention of a neighbor, who then discovered the two bodies. The investigation into the gruesome murders began.

Initially Los Angeles police questioned Simpson for about a half hour. They asked Simpson a number of questions about the deep cut on his right hand. Simpson initially claimed not to know the source of the cut. Later in the interview he suggested the hand was cut when he reached into his Bronco on the night of the murders, and then reopened the cut when he broke a glass in his Chicago hotel room after being told of the murders.

Police accumulated enough evidence indicating Simpson's guilt in the murders that they obtained a warrant for his arrest. Under an agreement worked out with Simpson's attorney, Robert Shapiro, Simpson was to turn himself in at police headquarters by 10:00 on the morning of June 17, the day following Nicole's funeral.

Simpson didn't show by the agreed upon time, police told Shapiro that they would be driving to his Brentwood home to pick him up. Sometime after one o'clock, four officers knocked on Simpson's front door. Soon they and Shapiro discovered that Simpson had disappeared.

Simpson left riding in the white Bronco of his friend, A. C. Cowling. A dozen police cars and news helicopters, were following in pursuit of the Bronco Simpson had left in. The chase would finally end with Simpson's arrest in his own driveway. After making the arrest, police discovered $8,750 in cash, a false beard and mustache, a loaded gun, and a passport in Cowlings' vehicle.

The prosecution began to put forward witnesses directly tying Simpson to the two murders. The evidence was technical and circumstantial, relating mostly of the results of blood, hair, fiber, and footprint analysis from the Bundy crime scene and Simpson's Rockingham home.

One piece of evidence was blood found on two black socks at the foot of O. J.'s bedroom. According to prosecution testimony, only 1 out of 6.8 billion sources of blood matched the sample. Nicole Brown Simpson blood matched the blood found on the socks. On cross-examination of the prosecution's DNA experts, the defense claimed that either the blood samples were contaminated or they were planted by corrupt police officers

Another piece of evidence was bloody gloves believed to be worn by the killer. Prosecutor Christopher Darden, confident  that the gloves belonged to Simpson, decided to do a courtroom demonstration. He asked Simpson, in full view of the jury, to try on the gloves worn by Nicole's killer.

Simpson seemed to struggle with the gloves, and then said, "They don't fit. See? They don't fit." Later, it would turn out that the gloves may have shrunk because of the blood, but the damage had been done.

The last day of the trial thousands of people converged on the courthouse. After 266 days of sequestration at the Inter-Continental Hotel in downtown L.A., jurors in the Simpson trial deliberated for only three hours, bringing the trial to a dramatic close. OJ was found not guilty of killing his ex-wife and her friend Ron Goldman in a stunning verdict.

The verdict was a shock because popular opinion was that the ex- football star was in fact guilty.

OJ claimed he was determined to find the “real killer”.

Columbine Shooting (April 20^th 1999)

Two high school students carried out an evil plan to murder their fellow classmates at Columbine high school. The event is simply remembered as “Columbine”.

Columbine will be remembered as one of the worst school shooting in history. It sparked a national debate on school violence.

Columbine High School seniors Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed 12 students and one teacher, as well as injuring 24 others, in one of the largest school shootings of all time.Students were held hostage and terrorized for hours before the gunman took their own lives.

A school security camera recorded some of the images of the two gunmen blasting away at their fellow students. Students hid under tables, a cafeteria worker frantically called 911.

Just outside the cafeteria, Harris and Klebold killed two students and wounded six more.

Then they turned away from their victims and headed for the school's west entrance. As the gunmen headed into the school, business teacher and Coach Dave Sanders rushed through the cafeteria, telling the remaining students to stay down, and then headed upstairs to help others. As he turned a corner, he was shot.

Art teacher Patty Nielson was on hall duty just inside the west doors when she saw Eric Harris. She ran inside and called 911. The dispatcher told her that help was on the way.

Police were at the school right away. Within five minutes of the first shots fired, the sheriff's deputy assigned to work at the school was in the west parking lot. He exchanged gunfire with Harris who retreated into the school. That deputy was soon joined by six other policemen who took positions around the building.

Police still did not enter the school. Harris and Klebold were heading toward the library, shooting in the halls and throwing bombs into the cafeteria below. They walked into the library and began shooting students they killed 10 students in the library and injured 12.

Klebold and Harris wandered around the school throwing bombs. They eventually went back to the cafeteria only to see that the propane bombs had not exploded and the sprinkler system had put out the fire. The two went back upstairs.

They headed back to the library, where uninjured students had escaped. Staff remained hidden. Klebold and Harris shot out the windows toward the policemen and paramedics that were outside.

Sometime between 12:05 and 12:08, Klebold and Harris went to the south side of the library and shot themselves in the head, ending the Columbine massacre.

There is really no explanation for the shooting but psychiatrists have concluded that Harris demonstrated psychopathic behavior and Klebold was likely depressed. Most people claim that neither were bullied, rather they were bullies who carefully planned the massacre at least a year before the attack.

 The two teens dreamed of infamy.The school shooting was meant to terrorize the entire nation

Pearl Harbor was Bombed (December 7, 1941)

On a normal and otherwise calm Sunday morning on December 7, 1941, the Japanese shocked the world by bombing the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

This surprise attack was the turning point for America entering World War II.

On December 8, the nation was gathered around its radios to hear President Roosevelt deliver his Day of Infamy speech. That same day, Congress declared war on Japan. On December 11, Congress declared war on Germany.

The slogan "Remember Pearl Harbor" mobilized the nation.  America’s war machine was awakened.

Over 3,500 Americans were killed or wounded in 2 waves of terror lasting 2 long hours; 350 aircraft were destroyed or damaged. The Japanese were on a suicide mission crashing their planes into the American battleships.

All 8 battleships of the U.S. Pacific Fleet were sunk or badly damaged  including the U.S.S. Arizona.

Young men rushed to sign up for the military in a surge of patriotism.

Elvis Presley died (August 16, 1977)

Elvis Aaron Presley was born to Vernon and Gladys Presley in a two room house in Tupelo, Mississippi, on January 8, 1935. His twin brother, Jessie Garon, was stillborn. So Elvis was an only child. The family moved to Memphis, Tennessee in 1948.  Elvis graduated from Humes High School there in 1953.

Elvis’ musical influences were the pop and country music of the time, the gospel music he heard in church. He also was influenced by the black R&B he absorbed on historic Beale Street as a Memphis teenager.

In 1954, Elvis began his singing career with Sun Records label in Memphis. In late 1955, his recording contract was sold to RCA Victor.

By 1956, he was an international sensation. He began a whole new era of American music and popular culture.His dancing and hip gyrations were seen as racy, but are tame compared today's music scene.

He starred in 33 successful films and made many TV appearances. He earned 14 Grammy nominations (3 wins). He also honorably served his country in the U.S. Army.

As with many celebrities Elvis enjoyed the excesses of fame. This included experimenting with drugs. He also lived a less than a healthy lifestyle.

Unfortunately in 1977 the king of rock and roll died of a drug overdose. Elvis Presley died in the bathroom of his Graceland mansion in Memphis, Tennessee. He was 42. He had been on the toilet, but fallen off onto the floor, where he lay in a pool of his own vomit.

Panicked, his staff contacted an ambulance, which rushed him to nearby Baptist Memorial Hospital, where, after several attempts to revive him, he died at 3:30 pm CST. His autopsy was performed at 7:00 pm.

The official coroner's report lists "cardiac arrhythmia" as the cause of Presley's death, but this was later admitted to be a ruse entered into by the Presley family along with autopsy physicians Dr. Jerry T. Francisco, Dr. Eric Muirhead and Dr. Noel Florredo to cover up the real cause of death, a cocktail of ten prescribed drugs, taken in doses no doctor would prescribe.

Millions of fans were crushed by the loss of the music legend.