American serial killer, rapist, and kidnapper (died 2021)

Rodney Alcala

Rodney James Alcala, also known as John Berger and John Burger, was an American serial killer and convicted sex offender who was sentenced to death in California for five murders committed between 1977 and 1979. He pleaded guilty and received two sentences, both twenty-five years to life, for two further murders committed in New York State. He was also indicted for one murder in Wyoming, although the charges filed there were dropped. While Alcala has been conclusively linked to nine murders, the true number of victims remains unknown and could be as high as 130.

Born

1943

August 23

Died

2021

Era

1940s

Country

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About

Rodney, in brief

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Life timeline

Key dates

1943 Born
2021 Died

Also on August 23

What else happened on this day, through history

79 Mount Vesuvius begins stirring, on the feast day of Vulcan, the Roman god of fire.
476 Odoacer, chieftain of the Germanic tribes (Herulic – Scirian foederati), is proclaimed rex Italiae ("King of Italy") by his troops.
1244 Siege of Jerusalem: The city surrenders to the Khwarazmiyya, ending Christian control of the Jerusalem for the next 672 years.
1268 The Battle of Tagliacozzo: The army of Prince Conradin is nearly destroyed by Charles of Anjou, ending Hohenstaufen control over the Kingdom of Sicily and leaving the Angevins in control.

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The world in 1943

When Rodney arrived

april 13 World War II: The discovery of mass graves of Polish prisoners of war killed by Soviet forces in the Katyń Forest Massacre is announced, causing a diplomatic rift between the Polish government-in-exile in London and the Soviet Union, which denies responsibility.
april 13 The Jefferson Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C., on the 200th anniversary of President Thomas Jefferson's birth.
april 16 Albert Hofmann accidentally discovers the hallucinogenic effects of the research drug LSD. He intentionally takes the drug three days later on April 19.
april 18 World War II: Operation Vengeance, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto is killed when his aircraft is shot down by U.S. fighters over Bougainville Island.

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Same-day contemporaries

Also born on August 23

Andreas Floer 1956–1991 German mathematician and academic (died 1991) Andrew Rannells 1978– American actor and singer Carl Hagelin 1988– Swedish ice hockey player Edgar Lee Masters 1868–1950 American lawyer, author, poet, and playwright (died 1950) Evangelos Zappas 1800–1865 Greek patriot, philanthropist, and businessman (died 1865) Giuseppe Meazza 1910–1979 Italian footballer and manager (born 1910) Jeremy Lin 1988– American basketball player Jimi Jamison 1951– American singer-songwriter and musician (died 2014) Kim Matula 1988– American actress

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Same-year contemporaries

Also born in 1943

Albano Carrisi 1943– Italian singer, actor, and winemaker Blythe Danner 1943– American actress Burt Rutan 1943– American engineer and pilot Davey Johnson 1943– American baseball player and manager (died 2025) Eddie Low 1943–2024 New Zealand country singer and musician (died 2024) Emerson Boozer 1943– American football player and sportscaster Florence Ballard 1943–1976 American singer (born 1943) Gamini Lokuge 1943– Sri Lankan politician (died 2025) Gary Wright 1943– American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer (died 2023)

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Keep going

More to explore

Rodney's birthday August 23 Rodney's zodiac Virgo When Rodney arrived 1943