TODAY IN HISTORY

On this day in 1997

Diana, Princess of Wales, was killed in a horrific car crash in a tunnel near the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Also killed were her Egyptian-born companion, Dodi Fayed, and their driver, Henri Paul. Bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones, the only one wearing a seat-belt, survived. Their Mercedes was being chased by paparazzi and tests later showed Paul’s blood-alcohol level was triple the legal limit for driving. Diana’s sudden death at age 36 unleashed an outpouring of stunned grief around the world, culminating in a televised funeral at Westminster Abbey that was watched by millions.

In 1 8 8 8, London prostitute Mary Ann “Polly” Nicholls became the first victim of Jack the Ripper.

In 1969, American Rocky Marciano, the only world heavyweight boxing champion to retire undefeated, died in a plane crash near Newton, Iowa. He was headed to a party to be held the next day marking his 46th birthday. Marciano held the crown for three years before retiring in 1955 with a 49-0 record.

In 1981, Clifford Olson was charged in Vancouver with first-degree murder in the deaths of nine children. Controversy erupted when the attorney general of British Columbia agreed to pay $100,000 to Olson’s family in return for information leading to the recovery of the bodies. In 1982, Olson pleaded guilty to 11 counts of murder of children aged nine to 18, and was sentenced to life imprisonment with no chance of parole for 25 years. He died of cancer in prison in 2011.