Italian-American mob boss
Italian-American mob boss
Italian-American mob boss who dominated Chicago's underworld in the early 20th century.
James 'Big Jim' Colosimo was an Italian-American organized crime figure.
He immigrated to the United States and rose to power in Chicago's criminal underworld.
Colosimo controlled gambling, prostitution, and extortion rackets, amassing significant wealth.
He steered clear of violence initially, earning a reputation as a respectable businessman.
In 1920 he was murdered, reportedly by associates linked to Al Capone.
His death opened the way for the rise of more violent gangsters in Chicago's Prohibition era.
1920
James Colosimo
British-Soviet double agent
British-Soviet double agent
Kim Philby was a high-ranking British intelligence officer who spied for the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
Born in 1912, Philby studied at Cambridge University where he was recruited by the Soviet NKVD.
He joined the British Foreign Service and later MI6, rising through the ranks while secretly passing classified information to the Soviets.
For decades, he betrayed dozens of agents and operations, causing one of the greatest intelligence scandals of the Cold War.
When his espionage activities were uncovered in 1963, he defected to the Soviet Union and lived there until his death.
Philby's actions reshaped British counterintelligence practices and his story remains a cautionary tale in espionage history.
1988
Kim Philby
Canadian journalist and politician
Canadian journalist and politician
Renaude Lapointe was a pioneering Canadian journalist and senator who championed freedom of the press.
Born in 1912 in Farnham, Quebec, Lapointe launched her journalism career covering social and political issues.
She became one of Quebec's first female press editors, breaking barriers in a male-dominated field.
In 1979, she was appointed to the Senate of Canada in recognition of her contributions to journalism.
During her tenure, she advocated for media freedom and women's rights.
Lapointe retired in the late 1980s and passed away in 2002, remembered as a trailblazer in Canadian media and politics.
2002
Renaude Lapointe
American murderer
American murderer
Thomas Silverstein was an American convicted murderer who spent over three decades in solitary confinement. He became one of the most notorious inmates in U.S. prison history.
Born in 1952 in Long Beach, California.
In 1983, he murdered a fellow inmate at USP Marion, becoming a high-profile case.
After killing a corrections officer in 1989, he was moved to the Special Housing Unit of the federal supermax prison in Florence, Colorado.
He spent more than 30 years in near-complete isolation, the longest-known period in U.S. history.
His case sparked debates on prison conditions, solitary confinement, and human rights.
Silverstein died in 2019, still held at the same supermax facility.
Thomas Silverstein