April 03

Jesse James, famed leader of the James–Younger Gang, was killed by Robert Ford, who sought a bounty offered for the outlaw’s capture. Ford shot James from behind as he dusted a picture on his wall in St. Joseph, Missouri. The act of betrayal generated widespread public outcry and solidified James’s status as a folk legend of the American West. Despite Ford’s claim of loyalty to the law, he was scorned by many and later met a violent end himself. The incident remains one of the most infamous moments of frontier history.

On April 3, 1888, a brutal murder attributed to the unidentified serial killer known as Jack the Ripper shocked the impoverished streets of Whitechapel in London’s East End. This crime would become the first of eleven violent killings that terrorized the city and sparked sensational media coverage. The killer’s gruesome modus operandi involved mutilations that mystified investigators and terrified the public. Despite extensive investigations, the murders were never solved, fueling endless speculation about the murderer’s identity. The Whitechapel case exposed social inequalities and policing challenges of Victorian England. Over a century later, the mystery endures in true crime studies and popular culture.

On April 3, 1936, Bruno Richard Hauptmann was executed in New Jersey for his role in the 1932 kidnapping and death of Charles Augustus Lindbergh Jr., son of famed aviator Charles Lindbergh. The abduction, labeled the ‘Crime of the Century,’ gripped the nation and led to a highly publicized investigation and trial. Hauptmann’s conviction rested on ransom money evidence and contested handwriting analysis. His execution marked the end of one of America’s most notorious criminal cases and spurred changes in federal kidnapping laws. The Lindbergh case remains a defining moment in American legal and media history, raising questions about due process, sensationalism, and justice.