February 14

Born in 1849 in Salvia, Passannante embraced radical anarchist ideals during his youth. In 1878, he attacked King Umberto I of Italy in Naples with a knife, injuring the monarch’s carriage driver. He was swiftly apprehended and subjected to harsh imprisonment and torture. Passannante spent decades confined in the fortress of Santo Stefano, later transferred to an asylum. His assassination attempt inspired fear and led to stringent security measures around the Italian monarchy. Passannante died in captivity in 1910, his name synonymous with early anarchist militancy in Europe.

Vito Genovese was an influential Italian-American gangster who rose to become head of the Genovese crime family, one of New York’s most powerful Mafia organizations. Born in Italy, he emigrated to the United States in 1913 and quickly became a key enforcer in Charles “Lucky” Luciano’s syndicate. After orchestrating the 1931 Castellammarese War, Genovese seized control of the Luciano family and expanded its reach into narcotics trafficking. He went into hiding in Italy in 1937 to avoid murder charges, returning clandestinely before being convicted in a federal narcotics case in 1959. Genovese died in prison in 1969, leaving a legacy of organized crime that shaped mid-century America.

Born in 1936 in Yabluchne, Ukraine, Andrei Chikatilo became one of history's most notorious serial killers. Between 1978 and 1990, he preyed on women and children across the Soviet Union, evading capture through meticulous planning. His crimes, marked by extreme violence, shocked the nation and exposed flaws in the Soviet criminal justice system. Chikatilo was finally arrested in 1990 and convicted in 1992 of 52 murders, receiving the death penalty. His trial was one of the largest in Soviet history, revealing disturbing details of his pathology. Chikatilo's case spurred reforms in forensic science and investigative methods in Russia. He remains a chilling example of criminal deviance in the late 20th century.