What happened on this day in history: Legendary comic book writer Stan Lee is born, Ronald Gene Simmons is arrested after killing 16 people, and more.
1065: The Original Westminster Abbey Is Consecrated
Westminster Abbey, England’s most famous church, is consecrated in London. Construction had begun in 1042 after Edward the Confessor, one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings, ordered its construction. He died just a week after its consecration and was buried there. In 1066, the coronation of William the Conqueror took place in the Abbey. Finally, in the 13th century, the original structure was redesigned into the Gothic masterpiece known the world over today.
1734: Rob Roy MacGregor Dies
Scottish outlaw and folk hero Rob Roy MacGregor dies in Perthshire, Scotland. He’s remembered as a Scottish Robin Hood, though that reputation was exaggerated by Sir Walter Scott in his 1818 novel Rob Roy. The outlaw likely stole cattle in his younger years before moving on to robbery and plundering in the early 18th century. He was arrested in 1722 and imprisoned in London’s Newgate Prison, but he was pardoned in 1727 and lived out the final years of his life in relative peace.
1922: Stan Lee Is Born
Wikimedia CommonsStan Lee at Phoenix Comicon in 2011.
Comic book writer, editor, and producer Stan Lee is born Stanley Martin Lieber in New York City. He started his career at Timely Comics, which would eventually become Marvel Comics. There, he filled inkwells, proofread text, and erased pencil marks from drawings.
The first comic he wrote himself was “Captain America Foils the Traitor’s Revenge,” under the pseudonym Stan Lee — which he eventually adopted as his legal name. From there, he became the most widely-known creator in the history of American comics before dying in 2018 at the age of 95.
1987: Ronald Gene Simmons Is Arrested
Wikimedia CommonsRonald Gene Simmons killed 14 of his family members and two other people in Arkansas in 1987.
American murderer Ronald Gene Simmons is arrested after a week-long killing spree that left 16 people dead in Dover and Russellville, Arkansas.
Simmons murdered his wife, children, and grandchildren, potentially because he thought his wife was going to divorce him. He then killed a woman who may have previously rejected him as well as a complete stranger, wounded several others, and quietly handed over his gun and surrendered himself to police when they arrived.
