American serial killer and rapist (died 1994)

John Wayne Gacy

John Wayne Gacy was an American serial killer and sex offender who raped, tortured and murdered at least thirty-three young men and boys between 1972 and 1978 in Norwood Park Township, a suburb of Chicago, Illinois. He became known as the "Killer Clown" due to his public performances as a clown prior to the discovery of his crimes.

Born

1942

March 17

Died

1994

Era

1940s

Country

—

About

John, in brief

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Life timeline

Key dates

1942 Born
1994 Died

Also on March 17

What else happened on this day, through history

-45 In his last victory, Julius Caesar defeats the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus and Pompey the Younger in the Battle of Munda.
180 Commodus becomes sole emperor of the Roman Empire at the age of eighteen, following the death of his father, Marcus Aurelius.
455 Petronius Maximus becomes, with support of the Roman Senate, emperor of the Western Roman Empire; he forces Licinia Eudoxia, the widow of his predecessor, Valentinian III, to marry him.
1337 Edward the Black Prince is made Duke of Cornwall, the first duchy in England.

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The world in 1942

When John arrived

april 15 World War II: The George Cross is awarded "to the island fortress of Malta" by King George VI.
april 17 World War II: French prisoner of war General Henri Giraud escapes from his castle prison in Königstein Fortress.
april 18 World War II: The Doolittle Raid on Japan: Tokyo, Yokohama, Kobe and Nagoya are bombed.
april 18 Pierre Laval becomes Prime Minister of Vichy France.

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Same-day contemporaries

Also born on March 17

Claressa Shields 1995– American boxer and mixed martial artist Daniel Sprong 1997– Dutch ice hockey player Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre 1665–1729 French harpsichord player and composer (born 1665) Gene Ween 1970– American singer-songwriter and guitarist James IV of Scotland (died 1513) 1473– Justin Hawkins 1975– English singer-songwriter Kate Greenaway 1846– English author and illustrator (died 1901) Lawrence Oates 1880– English lieutenant and explorer (died 1912) Michael Kelly 1957– American journalist and author (died 2003)

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Same-year contemporaries

Also born in 1942

Alvin Stardust 1942–2014 English singer and actor (born 1942) Andraé Crouch 1942–2015 American singer-songwriter, producer, and pastor (born 1942) Andrew Robinson 1942– American actor and director Bill Conti 1942– American composer and conductor Bob Hoskins 1942–2014 English actor (born 1942) Connie Hawkins 1942– American basketball player (died 2017) Danny Schechter 1942–2015 American director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2015) David Stern 1942–2020 American lawyer and businessman (born 1942) Dino Zoff 1942– Italian footballer

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More to explore

John's birthday March 17 John's zodiac Pisces When John arrived 1942