What happened on this day in history: Jerusalem is captured by Christian knights during the First Crusade, Gianni Versace is murdered on the steps of his Miami Beach mansion, and more.
1099: Jerusalem Is Captured By Christians
Jerusalem is captured by Christian knights during the First Crusade. Once they breached the city walls, the soldiers slaughtered tens of thousands of Muslims and Jews living there. Though Egyptian soldiers subsequently marched on the city, Christian forces were able to repel them.
1806: The Pike Expedition Sets Out
Public DomainZebulon Pike led an expedition to explore the American southwest.
Zebulon Pike sets out from Missouri with a party to explore the American southwest. He and his men explored the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains before they were captured by the Spanish. As their prisoners, he observed present-day New Mexico, Mexico, and Texas, and took notes about the Spanish military.
1940: Robert Wadlow Dies
Robert Wadlow, the tallest man in the world at eight feet 11 inches, dies at the age of 22.
1953: John Christie Is Executed
John Christie is executed in London by hanging. Between 1943 and 1953 he killed six women, including his own wife. He was finally caught after he moved out of his apartment and the bodies of several of his victims were found under the floorboard.
1997: Gianni Versace Is Murdered
Getty ImagesThe aftermath of Gianni Versace’s death in Miami.
Gianni Versace is killed in Miami, Florida, by serial killer Andrew Cunanan. Versace, a fashion designer, had risen to prominence with his striking designs. But his fame also drew the attention of Cunanan, who may or may not have had a relationship with him, before he killed the designer outside of his mansion in Miami Beach.
2017: Barbara Rogers Murders Her Boyfriend Over Sherry Shriner’s Alien Cult
Barbara Rogers murders her boyfriend, Steven Mineo, over the alien cult started by a YouTube personality named Sherry Shriner. Shriner began publishing content about reptilian aliens in the 2000s, eventually amassing a following of 20,000 people on YouTube alone. Two of Shriner’s followers, Rogers and Mineo, believed in Shriner’s ideology, but they were shunned from the group after posting content that Shriner disliked.
Angered and frustrated at their removal from the group, the two decided to go out drinking, and police were later called after Mineo was found dead from a gunshot wound to the head. Rogers was arrested for the crime and a court would sentence her to 40 years in prison for the murder.
