Category Archives: 1947

October 25, 1947: Toyoda of Japan Sells First Postwar Sedan for $5,000

October 25, 1947: Toyoda Automobile Co. unveils its first postwar car, a small, four-passenger sedan with 27 horsepower. The company has produced five cars so far, reserved for doctors. Continue reading

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October 23, 1947: Hollywood Fashion Designer, Partner Die Within Hours; Family Sues Over Estate of Men With ‘Strange Attachment’

October 23, 1947: Robert and Joseph were close — even in death. They shared a home filled with antiques, their bank accounts and were beneficiaries of each other’s wills. In fact, the families sued over their estates, charging that they were too close and had a “strange attachment.” Continue reading

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October 21, 1947: Firefighter Sits Through Movie With Dead Friend to Avoid Audience Panic

October 21, 1947: Walter Saul and his wife had just settled in for a movie with his friend Aloysius Bollin when he felt Bollin’s head on his shoulder. Saul, a firefighter, realized that Bollin had no pulse. He was dead. But rather than created a disturbance, he waited until the double feature was over. Then told Bollin’s son Joseph to go get his mother because his father was sick. Continue reading

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October 19, 1947: Times Political Editor Kyle Palmer Waves the Banner for Earl Warren

October 19, 1947: Kyle Palmer was an institution at The Times for many years, the embodiment of a reporter as backstage powerbroker and kingmaker, and his front-page story and opinion column were the opening salvos of his campaign to put Earl Warren in the White House. Continue reading

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October 18, 1947: S.S. General Saw Mass Executions as ‘Necessary to Win War’

NEURNBERG, Oct. 17 (A.P.)—S.S. Gen. Erich Naumann, whose commandos killed thousands of Jewish men, women and children on the eastern front, told a war crimes court today he saw nothing wrong with that. Continue reading

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October 16, 1947: LAPD Issues Guns to Policewomen!

October 16, 1947: The LAPD changes the uniform for policewomen and issues them guns — to be fashionably carried in a shoulder-slung black purse, also convenient for carrying handcuffs. Continue reading

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Reminder: Don’t Dress Up Like the Black Dahlia for Halloween!

Reminder: Do not dress up like the Black Dahlia for Halloween. Don’t. Do. It. Continue reading

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October 14, 1947: Capt. Chuck Yeager Breaks the Sound Barrier

October 14, 1947: Capt. Charles E. “Chuck” Yeager breaks the sound barrier. But the Los Angeles Times holds the story until June 1948 “in the interest of national security.” Continue reading

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October 14, 1897: ‘La Boheme’ Receives American Premiere in Los Angeles

October 14, 1897: Puccini’s “La Boheme” receives its American premiere in Los Angeles, performed by the Del Conte Italian Grand Opera Company of Peru. Continue reading

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October 12, 1947: Father Charged With Beating Son, 2, for Talking During Movie

October 12, 1947: Sheppard W. King III is jailed on charges of child abuse after hitting his 2-year-old son in the lobby of the Pantages because the boy talked during the show. Continue reading

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October 11, 1947: Jury Overturns Dog Lover’s Will Leaving Fortune to 2 Irish Setters

October 11, 1947: Pat and Gunner, 6-year-old Irish setters who were left a $30,000 estate by their late master, Carleton R. Bainbridge, retired attorney, yesterday were disinherited by a jury of eight men and four women. Continue reading

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October 1947: Lebanese, Syrian, Egyptian Armies Gather at Palestine Border for Possible Invasion

October 9, 1947: (U.P.)—The Lebanese and Syrian governments have ordered various units of their armies to mass along the Palestine borders for a possible invasion of the Holy Land, and the first units already have started marching, it was announced tonight. Continue reading

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Black L.A., 1947: Sentinel Reports on City’s Segregated Fire Department

October 9, 1947: The Sentinel reports on segregation in the Fire Department. Publisher Leon H. Washington Jr. said “There are a number of qualified Negro firemen on the list who must wait until one of the present firemen dies or retires before they will be appointed to jobs.” Continue reading

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Black Dahlia: Ask Me Anything, October 2025

This month’s Ask Me Anything on the Black Dahlia case, including a progress report on Heaven Is HERE! and what sources went into creation of the Black Dahlia Mystique. Continue reading

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October 5, 1947: Santa Monica Police Link Killing of Teenage Girl to Earlier Stabbing of Teenage Girl

October 5, 1947: Police link the stabbings of Barbara Jean Morse and Lillian Dominguez, as well as a third attack. Continue reading

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October 3, 1947: Full House – Burglar Slips In on Mystery Writer’s Poker Game

October 3, 1947: Reddest face in town yesterday belonged to Charles Bennett, writer of screen mysteries in which the brilliant detective always catches the crook. While he had a few friends in for a card game, a burglar crawled through a window and stole his wife’s purse and a pair of earrings. Continue reading

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October 2, 1947: On Skid Row, Homeless Children Mourn Their Beloved Sister Ollie

October 2, 1947: Sister Ollie (though she was famous under another name) died happy, according to her mother, Sister Sibbie, the superintendent at Sunshine Mission, 558 S. Wall St., a shelter for homeless women and children on skid row. Continue reading

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October 1, 1947: Meet Matt Weinstock, Author of ‘My L.A.’

October 1, 1947: Meet Matt Weinstock, author of “My L.A.” Everybody’s parents or grandparents seem to have purchased this little red-bound book with the blue title on the spine. There was a time when you could find a copy in just about any secondhand store or used bookshop in the Southwest next to “Inside U.S.A.” or one of the WPA guides. Continue reading

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Reminder – My Next ‘Ask Me Anything’ on the Black Dahlia Case Is October 7

Reminder: I will be doing a live Ask Me Anything on the Black Dahlia case on YouTube next Tuesday, October 7, at 10 a.m. Pacific time. Have questions? Leave them in the comments. Continue reading

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September 28, 1947: City Librarian Althea Warren Announces Retirement

September 28, 1947: City librarian Althea Warren is retiring after 14 years. She entered the profession despite the comment from an uncle who said: “A librarian leads a terrible life. She has to wear plain dresses and flat heels and the salary is ridiculous.” Continue reading

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