Category Archives: 1947

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

Posted on October 18, 2025 by lmharnisch

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!

Posted on October 16, 2025 by lmharnisch

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!

Posted on October 15, 2025 by lmharnisch

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

Posted on October 14, 2025 by lmharnisch

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

Posted on October 14, 2025 by lmharnisch

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

Posted on October 12, 2025 by lmharnisch

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

Posted on October 11, 2025 by lmharnisch

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

Posted on October 10, 2025 by lmharnisch

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

Posted on October 9, 2025 by lmharnisch

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

Posted on October 7, 2025 by lmharnisch

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

Posted on October 5, 2025 by lmharnisch

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

Posted on October 3, 2025 by lmharnisch

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

Posted on October 2, 2025 by lmharnisch

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.’

Posted on October 1, 2025 by lmharnisch

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

Posted on September 30, 2025 by lmharnisch

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

Posted on September 28, 2025 by lmharnisch

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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September 26, 1947: Remingtons, Winchesters, Colts and Smith & Wessons

Posted on September 26, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 26, 1947: You can buy a new Colt semiauto for $65 ($712.59 USD 2018) in .38 Super or .45, or a Smith and Wesson (presumably a Model 10) in .38 Special for $56.50 ($619.40) USD 2018. Continue reading →

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September 25, 1947: It Was a Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.

Posted on September 25, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 25, 1947: Five Japanese war criminals are hanged in Guam for practicing cannibalism on American POWs. Continue reading →

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September 24, 1947: Young Men Say ‘I Love You’ With a Buick Hood Ornament

Posted on September 24, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 24, 1947: There’s no better way to a woman’s heart than with the hood ornament from a 1946 or 1947 Buick. Continue reading →

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September 23, 1947: Janet Flanner, The New Yorker’s ‘Genet,’ Visits L.A .

Posted on September 23, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 23, 1947: Janet Flanner, European correspondent for the New Yorker, says: “The carpetbagging of our American soldiers went on for two years until the Army stopped it. It made cigarettes legal tender. American money still rates high, but our morality rates low….Just now we Americans are trying to run a checkbook empire. It can’t be done.” Continue reading →

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