December 15

On December 15, 1973, Italian authorities discovered 16-year-old John Paul Getty III in a house outside Naples, ending a high-profile kidnapping that began on July 10. The kidnappers had demanded a ransom of $17 million from his grandfather, oil tycoon J. Paul Getty, who initially refused to pay. After receiving a photograph of Getty III’s severed ear, the family negotiated a reduced ransom of $2.2 million. The ordeal exposed the Getty family’s wealth and the extreme measures taken by criminals for profit. Although released, Getty III suffered lasting physical and psychological trauma, and the case influenced global policies on ransom and ransom negotiations.

On December 15, 1973, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) voted 13–0 to remove homosexuality from the DSM-II, its official manual of mental disorders. This decision followed years of activism and protest by gay rights advocates who challenged the prevailing psychiatric consensus. Psychiatrists such as Alan Bell and others presented evidence that homosexuality did not meet the criteria for pathology. The APA’s landmark action reduced stigma and helped shift public attitudes toward LGBTQ individuals. It paved the way for further legal, social, and medical advances in the fight for gay rights.