Category Archives: Crime and Courts

Jan. 25, 1947: Shadows in Photograph Clear Man Convicted of Molesting Girl

Note: This is a post I wrote in 2006 for the 1947project. He said he didn’t do it. He said he didn’t lure the little girl into his garage on her way home from school. But he was convicted of … Continue reading

Posted in 1947, Comics, Crime and Courts, Immigration | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Jan. 25, 1947: Shadows in Photograph Clear Man Convicted of Molesting Girl

Jan. 23, 1947: Four Held for Trial in ‘Red Hibiscus Murder’

Note: This is a post I wrote in 2006 for the 1947project. Murder Four held for Trial in ‘Hibiscus’ Slaying After a weeklong preliminary hearing, four of five youths arrested in the Lincoln Park “hibiscus” murder case were today held … Continue reading

Posted in 1947, Comics, Crime and Courts, Music | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Jan. 22, 1947: Police Hunt ‘Large Nose Bandit’

Note: This is a post I wrote in 2006 for the 1947project. ‘Large Nose’ Seek Bandit in $28,000 L.A. Bank Holdup “Large Nose,” a bandit who claims “heroes die young,” was sought by police today for the $28,000 robbery of … Continue reading

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Comics, Crime and Courts | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Jan. 21, 1947: ‘Model Prisoners’ Slip From Custody at Night to Commit Burglaries

Note: This is a post I did in 2006 for the 1947project. Marley Griggs and his sidekick Oliver Gebhart had the perfect alibi for the burglary of a market on Western Avenue—they were already in custody 60 miles away. The … Continue reading

Posted in 1947, Crime and Courts, Hollywood | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Jan. 19, 1947: Watch Out for His Left Jab!

Note: This is an encore post I wrote in 2006 for the 1947project. Reluctant holdup victim finds left jab useful Sometimes even the boys in the legal beak-busting business don’t fare so well when they run up against the unorthodox … Continue reading

Posted in 1947, Crime and Courts | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Jan. 19, 1947: Watch Out for His Left Jab!

Jan. 18, 1907: California’s Racial Bans in Public Schools

Note: This is an encore post from 2007. Jan. 18, 1907 San Francisco In what is surely an embarrassing and awkward oversight, the California Constitution only prevents “Mongolian” children from attending white public schools when separate campuses have been created. … Continue reading

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, Education, LAPD, Streetcars | Comments Off on Jan. 18, 1907: California’s Racial Bans in Public Schools

Jan. 17, 1947: Big Bill Tilden Gets Jail for Morals Case Involving Teenage Boy

Note: This is a post I wrote in 2006 for the 1947project. Jan. 17, 1947: William (Big Bill) Tilden, 54-year-old internationally known tennis star, yesterday was sentenced to serve nine months in the County Jail with a road gang recommendation … Continue reading

Posted in 1947, Comics, Crime and Courts, Sports | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Jan. 17, 1947: Big Bill Tilden Gets Jail for Morals Case Involving Teenage Boy

Jan. 16, 1947: Eleanor Roosevelt’s Driver’s License Revoked!

Note: This is a post I wrote in 2006 for the 1947project. I never cease to be amazed at the placement of this story on Page 1 of The Times. While the major competing newspapers—the Examiner, Herald-Express and Daily News—are … Continue reading

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Not in My Back Yard

Note: This is an encore post from 2007. Jan. 13, 1907 Los Angeles The Times takes a light, humorous look at the destructive wanderings of Eaton Wash: a docile stream, if not entirely dry, most of the year, turned into … Continue reading

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Streetcars | 1 Comment

Jan. 8, 1947: Judge Denies ‘Hollywood’ Divorce for Actress Virginia Engels ‘The Orchid Queen’

Note: This is a post I wrote in 2006 for the 1947project. Jan. 8, 1947: The apartment was so small that her husband, James Robert Dennis, asked her to go home to live with her parents. He said he’d call … Continue reading

Posted in 1947, Art & Artists, Crime and Courts, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

TLC

Note: This is an encore post from 2007. Jan. 7, 1907 Long Beach Elizabeth Mahler, a dainty brunette with a “sunny and jolly disposition,” is one of the bright spots at Long Beach Hospital. She had many male suitors and … Continue reading

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Religion, Streetcars | Comments Off on TLC

Jan. 6, 1947: Artist Dies While Hanging From Ceiling to Ease Spinal Pain

Note: This is a post I wrote in 2006 for the 1947project. Jan. 6, 1947: Charles Clyde Atchison, 66, a sculptor and stone mason, had back problems—at least that’s what he told his sister Leona of 1110 W. 30th St. … Continue reading

Posted in 1947, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Music, Obituaries | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Jan. 6, 1947: Artist Dies While Hanging From Ceiling to Ease Spinal Pain

Jan. 5, 1947: Two Black 15-Year-Olds Set for Electric Chair After Losing Plea

Note: This is a post I wrote in 2006 for the 1947project. Jan. 5, 1947: “The majority of Americans belong to one minority group or another,” said Dr. Will Durant, author and lecturer, yesterday in outlining the scope of the … Continue reading

Posted in 1947, African Americans, Crime and Courts | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Jan. 4, 1947: Angry Sailor Sets Fire to Skid Row Hotel After Being Rolled

Note: This is a post I wrote in 2006 for the 1947Project. Jan. 4, 1947: Suppose, for a moment, that you are a 19-year-old mess cook second class stationed in San Pedro. Suppose further that while you are on leave … Continue reading

Posted in 1947, African Americans, Black Dahlia, Crime and Courts, Fires, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Jan. 3, 1947: Actress Helen Walker Hurt in Crash That Kills Soldier, Injures 2 Others

Yes, this is the Jan. 2, 1947, comics page, which pops up for Jan. 3, 1947. Note: This is a post that I wrote in 2006 for the 1947project. This is one of those days where there’s too much to … Continue reading

Posted in 1947, Crime and Courts, Hollywood, Music, Transportation, Vietnam | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

New York City’s Homicide Rate – And a Lesson in Using FBI Uniform Crime Reports

Actually, no. Ashley Southall of the New York Times has it wrong in saying that the current homicide rate of 286 is “the lowest since reliable records have been kept.” We can say this because the FBI Uniform Crime Reports … Continue reading

Posted in 1940, Another Good Story Ruined, Crime and Courts, Homicide | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on New York City’s Homicide Rate – And a Lesson in Using FBI Uniform Crime Reports

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Note: This is an encore post from 2011. I picked up “The Big Picture,” Melba Levick and Stanley Young’s 1988 book about Los Angeles murals, not realizing what a terribly sad book it would be. As Young notes: “Most artists … Continue reading

Posted in 1988, Architecture, Art & Artists, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, Downtown, From the Stacks, Hollywood, Latinos, Photography, Preservation, San Fernando Valley, Sports, Zoot Suit | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Chinese Massacre – Oct 24, 1871

At top, an account of the massacre in the Daily Southern Cross of Auckland, New Zealand, Dec. 9, 1871, Above, a detail of a Los Angeles map displayed in the Globe Lobby of the Los Angeles Times Building showing the … Continue reading

Posted in 1871, Crime and Courts, Downtown | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Chinese Massacre – Oct 24, 1871

L.A. Fourth of July, 1863: Pic-Nics and Fire-Works

Note: This is a post from 2013 The complete July 4, 1863, issue of the Los Angeles Star is available from USC, which scanned  a copy at the Huntington. July 4, 1863: Los Angeles plans to celebrate the Fourth of … Continue reading

Posted in 1863, Crime and Courts, San Francisco | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on L.A. Fourth of July, 1863: Pic-Nics and Fire-Works

LAPD Scrapbook: Radio Patrolmen Nab Burglar Suspect, Westwood Hills Press, Dec. 14, 1945

Dec. 14, 1945 This item in the LAPD scrapbooks at the city archive is from the Westwood Hills Press and profiles Officer Walter A. Callahan, who was awarded the Silver Star and Marine Corps Distinguished Service Medal in World War … Continue reading

Posted in 1945, Crime and Courts, LAPD | Tagged , , | 8 Comments