History - Timeline: Civil Rights & Sunbelt Georgia 1. Eugene Talmadge was again elected governor of Georgia, despite not winning the popular vote. William George Heirens (November 15, 1928 – March 5, 2012) was a convicted American serial killer who confessed to three murders in 1946. Heirens was called the. But at the time Georgia’s elections were based on the county unit system, and Talmadge won the most county unit votes. But the grueling campaign, in which Talmadge traveled across the state delivering 2. Thus began one the most unusual episodes in Georgia’s political history - the Three Governors Affair. See 1. 94. 7 for further details. Melvin Thompson was elected to the newly created position of lieutenant governor. Helen Douglas Mankin was elected to the U. S. Congress, becoming the second woman from Georgia to serve in that capacity, but really the first in a meaningful sense (see 1. The U. S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Primus E. King, an African American from Columbus, Georgia, could vote in the Georgia Democratic primary, after having been prohibited from voting in 1. The court ruled this violated the 1. Georgia’s white primary was a state election in which the Democratic Party acted as an instrumentality of the state. Walt Disney’s Song of the South, based on the Uncle Remus stories of Georgia native Joel Chandler Harris, premiered at the Fox Theater in Atlanta. A fire at the Winecoff Hotel in Atlanta claimed 1. W. Frank Winecoff and 2. Musician Duane Allman was born in Tennessee. Watch online full movie: The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) for free. Duel in the Sun (1946) was branded 'Lust in the Dust' at the time of its release. This classic epic western was produced by David O. Selznick (who failed in his. Directed by Jean Negulesco. With Joan Crawford, John Garfield, Oscar Levant, J. A classical musician from the slums is sidetracked by his love for a. Elizabeth Short - The Black Dahlia (Wide World Photos) WHO KILLED THE BLACK DAHLIA? The Tragic Life & Death of Elizabeth Short On January 15, 1947 a housewife named. Nick Papantoniou, who played drums for a brief stint with Hatebreed, was found guilty of felony murder in Hamden, Ct. The Texarkana Moonlight Murders, a term coined by the news media, references the unsolved murders committed in and around Texarkana in the spring of 1946 by an. Future actor Demond Wilson was born in Valdosta, Georgia. One of the strangest episodes in Georgia’s, or the nation’s, political history occurred this year. Eugene Talmadge had been elected governor in late 1. January, 1. 94. 7. Some of his followers had been concerned about this; as Talmadge was in poor health during the campaign. So they encouraged write in votes for Talmadge’s son, Herman Talmadge, based on an old state provision that said if an elected governor died before taking office, the General Assembly (then controlled by Talmadge supporters) would choose the governor from the next two highest vote getters. But Herman Talmadge was not in that top two, until a number of write in votes were “discovered” in the Talmadge’s home county of Telfair. Later research found that many of these “discovered” ballots bore the names of people from Telfair County cemeteries! But with Talmadge as one of the candidates, the General Assembly voted him in as governor. But the 1. 94. 6 election had something new, created by the new Georgia Constitution of 1. Melvin Thompson had won that office, and claimed he should assume the office of governor. Outgoing governor Ellis Arnall refused to relinquish the office until the controversy was settled, so Georgia had three men all claiming to be governor! The Talmadge faction even invaded Governor Arnall’s office, took it over, and changed the locks! Arnall set up office elsewhere in the capitol building, though he did eventually dropped out of the affair in support of Thompson. Thompson, meanwhile, had carried the case to court, where it finally reached the Georgia Supreme Court. In March, they declared that Melvin Thompson was the rightful governor, and Herman Talmadge gave up his claims to the office, while vowing to take the case to the people in a special election scheduled for 1. Fort Frederica was designated as a national monument. Musician Gregg Allman was born in Tennessee. Cairo, Georgia born Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in major league baseball when he signed a contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 1. April 1. 5. Baseball Hall of Famer Josh Gibson, born in Buena Vista, Georgia, died in Pennsylvania. In November a special gubernatorial election was held (as part of the general election); Herman Talmadge defeated incumbent Melvin Thompson. This finally brought an end to the Three Governors Affair (see 1. The Berlin Airlift, to supply the city of Berlin, Germany being blockaded by the Soviet Union, was organized by native Georgian Lucius D. Clay this year. WSB- TV - Georgia’s first television station - was launched. Savannah born Claude Harmon became the first native Georgian to win the Masters golf tournament. Future Georgia governor Roy Barnes was born in Atlanta. Future U. S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was born near Savannah, Georgia. Former Georgia governor, and lead prosecutor in the Leo Frank Case (see 1. An adventuresome young man goes off to find himself and loses his socialite fianc. But when he returns 10 years later, she will stop at nothing to. See also: Attempted Murder; Death Threats; Presence on this list implies merely that, to the best of our knowledge, charges were filed against the. Hugh Dorsey, died. Georgia born Jackie Robinson, playing baseball for the Brooklyn Dodgers, was named the National League Most Valuable Player. Atlanta native Louise Suggs won the U. S. Woman’s Golf Championship. Gone with the Wind author Margaret Mitchell died in Atlanta after being struck by a taxi. Country music pioneer Fiddlin’ John Carson died in Atlanta. Herman Talmadge was re- elected governor of Georgia. The Girls Scout of America, founded in 1. Georgian Juliette Gordon Low, was officially chartered by the U. S. Congress. In the case of South v. Supreme Court dismissed a complaint concerning Georgia’s county unit system of deciding elections. The system would be challenged again the following decade. The construction of Buford Dam, which would help create Lake Lanier, began. Lawrenceville, Georgia born Ezzard Charles won the world heavyweight boxing championship, then defended the title later in the year. The 2. 2nd Amendment to the U. S. Constitution was ratified, limiting future U. S. Presidents to no more than two terms. Part time Georgian Franklin D. Roosevelt had been elected to four consecutive terms, before dying in office (and in Warm Springs, Georgia) in 1. Georgia Senator Richard B. Army Corps of Engineers lake north of Atlanta, formed by Buford Dam, was officially named Lake Sidney Lanier. Wise Blood, the first novel by Georgian Flannery O’Connor, was published. The state of Georgia purchased Stone Mountain and surrounding land for the purpose of building a park. Future Atlanta Brave Hall of Famer and home run champion Hank Aaron was signed to a contract by the then Boston Braves. Musician Gladys Knight began her career early this year, at age seven, by winning Ted Mack’s Original Amateur Hour. Jackie Cochran, who had spent part of her youth in Georgia and gone on to aviation fame, became the first woman to break the sound barrier. The U. S. Navy purchased the State Normal School site in Athens for the purpose of establishing a Naval Supply Corps School on the site. A tornado damaged Robins Air Force Base and other areas of middle Georgia, leaving 1. African- American Dr. Rufus Clement won election to the Atlanta Board of Education, with the support of many white leaders. Describing his victory as proof that “the white population is ready to work constructively with the Negro population,” Clement became a proponent of a “go slow, go easy” path to integration that helped Atlanta avoid the confrontations over desegregation that developed in many other southern cities. Future actress Kim Basinger was born in Athens, Georgia. Future Grammy award winning musician Robert Cray was born in Columbus, Georgia. Terry Bollea was born in Augusta, Georgia; he would go on to fame as wrestler and entertainer Hulk Hogan. Though the decision was based on a case in Kansas, the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision this year had a profound effect upon Georgia. Until this point, white and black children in Georgia (and many other states) attended separate schools, with the states contending that the schools were separate, but equal. The court struck down the “separate but equal” doctrine for public schools, stating that separate schools are inherently unequal. It also ruled that laws which segregated on the basis of race violated the 1. Amendment. Reaction was swift and emotional in Georgia, with Governor Herman Talmadge, and many other politicians, claiming the Supreme Court acted unconstitutionally. Their argument was that operating public schools is a power reserved to the states under the U. S. Constitution. Soon after the Brown v. Board of Education decison was announced, the Atlanta chapter of the NAACP announced it intended to immediately petition the Fulton County School Board to end segregation of Atlanta’s public schools. But Herman Talmadge vowed the state would not abide by the ruling. See In Their Own Words for his exact quote. Marvin Griffin was elected governor of Georgia, after campaigning against the Brown v. Board of Education decision. The Naval Supply Corps School was commissioned in Athens, Georgia. Musician Terri Gibbs was born in Miami, but she lived from age one in Augusta, Georgia. Future women’s professional golfer Hollis Stacy was born in Savannah, Georgia. Former Georgia governor Clifford Walker died. The U. S. Supreme Court issued its second decision in the case of Brown v. The first decision in 1. U. S. Constitution’s 1. Amendment, but said nothing about how soon the doctrine must change. The second Brown decision declared that integration of Topeka, Kansas’ public schools must take place “with all deliberate speed.” As much as the first Brown decision upset white political leaders in Georgia, the second decision precipitated an even angrier reaction, which would become evident in 1. Flannery O’Connor. Slaton had commuted Leo Frank. Supreme Court in the Brown v. Board of Education (see 1. Georgia. Several other notable bills passed, also in response the Supreme Court decisions, in what came to be called Georgia’s “massive resistance” packet of legislation. Across the South, most Senators and Representatives signed the Southern Manifesto - a declaration of constitutional reasons for opposing the decisions. Testing the U. S. Supreme Court’s decisions, two African- Americans applied for admission to the Georgia State College of Business Administration. Their applications were denied. The Georgia State Flag was changed, adding an image of the Confederate Battle Flag to it; this flag would remain official until 2. Herman Talmadge was elected to the U. S. Senate. Atlanta was chosen as the hub of a 4. The Downtown Connector, which would eventually link these highways in the Atlanta area, opened. William Heirens - Wikipedia. William George Heirens (November 1. Heirens was called the Lipstick Killer after a notorious message scrawled in lipstick at a crime scene. At the time of his death, Heirens was reputedly Chicago's longest- serving prisoner, having spent 6. Though he remained imprisoned until his death, Heirens had recanted his confession and claimed to be a victim of coercive interrogation and police brutality. The novel was later adapted into the film While the City Sleeps by Fritz Lang. On March 5, 2. 01. Heirens died at the UIC Medical Center. His family was poor and his parents argued incessantly, leading Heirens to wander the streets to avoid listening to them. He took to crime and later claimed that he mostly stole for fun and to release tension. He never sold anything he had stolen. A subsequent search of the Heirens's home discovered a number of stolen weapons hidden in an unused storage shed on the roof of a nearby building along with furs, suits, cameras, radios and jewelry he had stolen. Heirens admitted to 1. Gibault School for wayward boys for several months. This time, he was sentenced to three years at the St. Bede Academy, operated by Benedictine Monks. During his time at the school, Heirens stood out as an exceptional student, and his test scores were so high he was urged to apply for the University of Chicago's special learning program. He was accepted into the program just before his release and asked to begin classes in the 1. His parents were unable to afford either the tuition or boarding, so Heirens worked several evenings a week as an usher and at the university as a docent to pay his way. However, he also resumed his serial burglary, even as he studied at the University of Chicago. We all wanted to dance with him - the foxtrot, tango or a waltz. It didn't really matter. She had been repeatedly stabbed, and her head was wrapped in a dress. She was presumed to have surprised an intruder, who then killed her. Dark hairs were found clutched in Ross' hand, indicating that she had struggled with the intruder before she was killed. They looked for a dark- complected man who was reported loitering at the apartment or running from the scene. Brown had been savagely stabbed, and authorities thought that a burglar had been discovered or interrupted. No valuables were taken. Also, there was a possible eyewitness to the killer's escape. According to John Derick, the night clerk stationed in the lobby of the building, a nervous man of 3. After searching the apartment and not finding the girl, her family called the police. Her disappearance attracted significant publicity, and police vowed to find whoever was responsible. Police found a ladder outside the girl's window, and also discovered a ransom note which had been overlooked by the family. The note read: Ge. I $2. 0,0. 00 Reddy & w. AITe fo. R Wo. Rd. Bills IN 5's & 1. Roosevelt and the OPA made their own laws. Why shouldn't I and a lot more? At the time, there was a nationwide meatpackers strike and the OPA was talking of extending rationing to dairy products. Degnan was a senior OPA executive recently transferred to Chicago. Another executive of the OPA had recently been assigned armed guards after receiving threats against his children and, in Chicago, a man involved with black market meat had recently been murdered by decapitation. Police considered the possibility the Degnan killer was a meat packer. Someone later telephoned police anonymously, suggesting that police look in the sewers near the Degnan home. Police did, and discovered the young girl's head in a storm- drain sewer that was in an alley a block from the Degnan residence. In the same alley, they discovered the girl's right leg in a catch basin, her torso in another storm drain and her left leg in a drain in another alley, each location progressively further from her home. Her arms were found a month later in a sewer on the other side of the Howard elevated train line more than three blocks from the Degnan residence. Searches of an apartment building near where her head was found uncovered a basement laundry room with four tubs that contained evidence indicating she had been dismembered there. The killer had mopped the floor, but blood was found in the drains of all four tubs. The press called it the . On several occasions, authorities claimed to have captured the killer, but the suspects were eventually released. Witnesses. The site was later found to be in the basement laundry room at 5. Winthrop Avenue, near the Degnans' home; however, it was determined that Suzanne was already dead when she was taken to the room. Kearns, the coroner's expert, stated that the killer was . One child was scratched on the face by the woman's long fingernails. Ethel Hargrove, who lived in an apartment above the Degnans, arrived home at 1. She reported hearing loud male voices downstairs and dogs barking in the Flynn apartment. Another tenant corroborated the barking at that time. George Subgrunski went to the police shortly after the murder and reported seeing a man walking to the Degnan home carrying a bag at 1: 0. He described the man as around 5 ft 9 in tall, 1. His evidence was found to be inconsistent and was dismissed by several investigators. Robert Reisner, a cab driver, saw a woman carrying a bundle under each arm near the alley behind the Degnan home at 1: 3. She got into a car driven by a gray- haired man. Missy Crawford, who lived across the road, reported seeing a car containing a man and a woman repeatedly drive up and down the street at 2: 3. Marion Klein and Jake De. Rosa, looking out her apartment window at 3: 0. Suzanne was dismembered. He ran away after apparently being disturbed. Freida Meyer, who lived above the laundry room, saw a man enter it at 3: 4. He returned to the laundry room 1. He returned a third time 1. Police told the press . The police tried to pressure Verburgh's wife to implicate her husband in the murder. Verburgh said of the experience: Oh, they hanged me up, they blindfolded me .. I can't put up my arms, they are sore. They had handcuffs on me for hours and hours. They threw me in the cell and blindfolded me. They handcuffed my hands behind my back and pulled me up on bars until my toes touched the floor. I no eat, I go to the hospital. Any more and I would have confessed to anything. He sued the Chicago Police Department for $1. Police had found blonde hairs in the back of the Degnan apartment building, and nearby was a wire that authorities suspected could have been used as a garrote to strangle Suzanne Degnan. Near that was a handkerchief the police suspected might have been used as a gag to keep Suzanne quiet. On the handkerchief was a laundry mark name: S. The police hoped that perhaps the killer had erred in leaving it behind. They searched military records and discovered that a Sidney Sherman lived at the Hyde Park YMCA. The police went to question Sherman but discovered that he had vacated the residence without checking out and quit his job without picking up his last paycheck. Sherman was found four days later in Toledo, Ohio. He explained under interrogation that he had eloped with his girlfriend and denied that the handkerchief was his. He was administered a polygraph test, which he passed, and was later cleared. He had been out of the country when Suzanne Degnan was murdered. He had no idea how it could possibly have ended up in Chicago and the presence of the handkerchief was determined to be a coincidence. The mystery of who placed those calls was answered. While checking out local persons of interest to see if they had any connection to the Degnan case, they picked up a local boy named Theodore Campbell. Under questioning, he admitted that another local teenager, named Vincent Costello, had killed Suzanne Degnan. The Chicago Tribune declared the Degnan case solved. According to the story Campbell told the police, Costello told him that he kidnapped and killed the girl and disposed of her body. Costello allegedly told Campbell to make ransom calls to the Degnans. This corroborated the mystery ransom calls made to the Degnans the morning after Suzanne was reported missing. The police arrested Costello on that basis and interrogated him overnight. They later admitted that they heard police officers discussing details of the case and came up with the idea of calling the Degnans about the ransom. By April, some 3. At the time of the Chicago investigation, he was imprisoned in Phoenix for molesting one of his own daughters but he was in Chicago at the time of the Degnan murder. A handwriting expert for the Phoenix Police Department first informed Chicago authorities of the . Although Thomas lived on the south side, he frequented a car yard directly across the street from where Suzanne Degnan's arms were found. During questioning by Chicago police, he freely admitted killing Suzanne Degnan. A college student was caught fleeing from the scene of a burglary, brandished a gun at police and possibly tried to kill one of the pursuing policemen to escape. By this time, Thomas had recanted his confession, but the press didn't notice in light of this new lead. As Heirens fled, the building's janitor pursued him and blocked his path out of the building. However, Heirens allegedly pointed the gun he was carrying at the caretaker saying, . Heirens made his way to a nearby building to lie low, but a resident spotted him and called the police. As Heirens attempted to escape down a staircase two officers closed in, one at each end of the staircase. Trapped, Heirens brandished a revolver, perhaps pointing the barrel at one officer. Some reports state that he actually pulled the trigger but the gun misfired. The police had taken him to Bridewell Hospital, which was adjacent to the Cook County Jail. The questioning became more violent. Heirens later said he was interrogated around the clock for six consecutive days, being beaten by police and not allowed to eat or drink.
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