What happened on this day in history: Blackbeard is killed in battle in 1781, President Kennedy is assasinated in Dallas in 1963, and other important events from November 22.
Blackbeard Is Killed
Wikimedia CommonsBefore he became Blackbeard, Edward Teach was simply a mysterious Englishman who wanted to make a fortune.
On this date in 1781, the infamous pirate Edward Teach, also known as Blackbeard, is killed in a battle with the British navy off the coast of the Outer Banks in North Carolina.
According to legend, Blackbeard was shot five times with a musket and suffered 20 sword wounds before his death. The notorious marauder’s body was tossed into the sea, but his head was hung from the bow of his killer’s ship and later displayed at the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay as a warning to other pirates.
Charles De Gaulle Is Born
Charles de Gaulle, the president of France from 1959 to 1969, is born in the city of Lille in 1890. Aside from his presidency, de Gaulle is best known for his role in leading the Free France army against Nazi Germany during World War II after the official French government surrendered. After the war, he rewrote the French Constitution and founded the Fifth Republic, the system of government still used in France to this day.
President John F. Kennedy Is Assassinated
Public DomainA photo taken by Mary Ann Moorman one-sixth of a second after John F. Kennedy was fatally shot.
President John F. Kennedy is assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald as he rides in a motorcade in 1963 through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas. Kennedy was sitting beside his wife Jacqueline when he was shot in the head and neck. He was pronounced dead at the hospital at 1 p.m., and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson took the oath of office just after 2:30 p.m. Just two days later, Dallas club owner Jack Ruby would shoot Oswald to death.
Listen above to the History Uncovered podcast, episode 96: Who Really Killed JFK?, also available on Apple and Spotify.
1987: The Max Headroom Incident
YouTubeThe masked figure from the Max Headroom incident.
On November 22, 1987, an unidentified person in a Max Headroom mask hijacks two television broadcasts in Chicago, Illinois. During the 9:00 p.m. sports segment, the mysterious hacker appeared on-screen dressed like the fictional Headroom, the “first computer-generated TV presenter,” and swayed back and forth for 25 seconds.
Two hours later, the hijacker appeared again, and this time exposed their bare buttocks to the screen. Though the FCC investigated the incident, no culprit has ever been identified.
2004: Dena Schlosser Amputates Her Baby’s Arms
Dena Schlosser amputates her baby’s arms during an episode of postpartum psychosis. After marrying her husband, Schlosser became deeply involved in a Christian fundamentalist church in Texas. She seemed to be heavily influenced by the church, and this only became worse after the birth of her third child, Margaret. The mixture of postpartum depression and religious fervor seemed to push Schlosser over the edge one night. In her psychotic episode, Schlosser used a kitchen knife to saw off the arms of her baby and then attempted to cut off her own arms. Police later reported that Schlosser believed God commanded her to do this.
Schlosser was later deemed not guilty by reason of insanity and sent to a psychiatric facility where she remains today.
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