1953 david berkowitz american serial killer and arsonist 73 06 01
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1978 48 years ago Selected Events June 12

American serial killer David Berkowitz, popularly known as the "Son of Sam", was sentenced to 25-years-to-life in prison for each of six killings.

On June 12, in the year 1978, American serial killer David Berkowitz, popularly known as the "Son of Sam", was sentenced to 25-years-to-life in prison for each of six killings. This event is recorded as a Selected Events event in the history of June 12, one of 403 recorded events on this date across all of history.

David Richard Berkowitz, also known as the Son of Sam, the .44 Caliber Killer and the Phantom of the Bronx, is an American serial killer, serial arsonist and former United States Army soldier who committed a stabbing and a series of shootings in New York City between 1975 and 1977, killing six people and wounding eleven others. Armed with a .44 caliber Bulldog revolver during most of his crimes, Berkowitz terrorized New York City with letters mocking police and promising further crimes, leading to possibly the biggest manhunt in the city's history.

Key Facts

  • This event took place on June 12, 1978 (AD era).
  • It is categorised as a Selected Events event in recorded history.
  • Referenced in 1 Wikipedia article.
  • Wikipedia source last updated on 1 June 2026.

On This Date in History 403

Type Year Date Event
Historical Events 2025 Jun 12 Air India Flight 171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, crashes shortly after takeoff into the B
Selected Events 2025 Jun 12 Air India Flight 171 crashes shortly after take-off in Ahmedabad, India, killing 260 people
Historical Events 2024 Jun 12 A fire in a residential building in Mangaf, Kuwait City kills at least 50 people
Notable Deaths 2024 Jun 12 William H
Notable Deaths 2024 Jun 12 Neil Goldschmidt, American lawyer and politician, 33rd Governor of Oregon (born 1940)
Notable Deaths 2024 Jun 12 Jerry West, American basketball player and executive (born 1938)
Notable Deaths 2023 Jun 12 Silvio Berlusconi, Italian businessman and politician, Prime Minister of Italy (born 1936)
Notable Deaths 2023 Jun 12 Francesco Nuti, Italian actor and director, (born 1955)
Notable Deaths 2023 Jun 12 John Romita Sr
Notable Deaths 2023 Jun 12 Treat Williams, American actor (born 1951)
Notable Deaths 2022 Jun 12 Philip Baker Hall, American actor (born 1931)
Notable Deaths 2022 Jun 12 Phil Bennett, Welsh rugby union player (born 1948)
Historical Events 2019 Jun 12 Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is inaugurated as the second president of Kazakhstan
Notable Deaths 2019 Jun 12 Sylvia Miles, American actress (born 1924)
Historical Events 2018 Jun 12 United States President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un of North Korea held the first meeting between leaders of their two
Notable Deaths 2018 Jun 12 Jon Hiseman, English drummer (born 1944)
Historical Events 2016 Jun 12 Forty-nine civilians are killed and 58 others injured in an attack on a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, United States
Selected Events 2016 Jun 12 An Islamic terrorist killed 49 people in a mass shooting at the gay nightclub Pulse in Orlando, Florida
Notable Deaths 2015 Jun 12 Fernando Brant, Brazilian journalist, poet, and composer (born 1946)
Historical Events 2014 Jun 12 Between 1,095 and 1,700 Shia Iraqi people are killed in an attack by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant on Camp Sp
Notable Deaths 2013 Jun 12 Teresita Barajuen, Spanish nun (born 1908)
Notable Deaths 2013 Jun 12 Jason Leffler, American racing driver (born 1975)
Notable Deaths 2012 Jun 12 Hector Bianciotti, Argentinian-French journalist and author (born 1930)
Notable Deaths 2012 Jun 12 Margarete Mitscherlich-Nielsen, Danish-German psychoanalyst and author (born 1917)
Notable Deaths 2012 Jun 12 Medin Zhega, Albanian footballer and manager (born 1946)
Notable Deaths 2012 Jun 12 Elinor Ostrom, American political scientist and economist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1933)
Notable Deaths 2012 Jun 12 Pahiño, Spanish footballer (born 1923)
Notable Deaths 2012 Jun 12 Frank Walker, Australian judge and politician, 41st Attorney General of New South Wales (born 1942)
Notable Deaths 2011 Jun 12 René Audet, Canadian bishop (born 1920)
Notable Deaths 2010 Jun 12 Al Williamson, American illustrator (born 1931)
Selected Events 2010 Jun 12 Sixteen-year-old Abby Sunderland was rescued after her boat was dismasted in the Indian Ocean while trying to become the
Historical Events 2009 Jun 12 A disputed presidential election in Iran leads to wide-ranging local and international protests
Notable Deaths 2008 Jun 12 Miroslav Dvořák, Czech ice hockey player (born 1951)
Notable Deaths 2008 Jun 12 Derek Tapscott, Welsh footballer and manager (born 1932)
Notable Deaths 2006 Jun 12 Nicky Barr, Australian rugby player and fighter pilot (born 1915)
Notable Deaths 2006 Jun 12 György Ligeti, Romanian-Hungarian composer and educator (born 1923)
Notable Deaths 2006 Jun 12 Kenneth Thomson, 2nd Baron Thomson of Fleet, Canadian businessman and art collector (born 1923)
Notable Deaths 2005 Jun 12 Scott Young, Canadian journalist and author (born 1918)
Notable Deaths 2003 Jun 12 Gregory Peck, American actor and political activist (born 1916)
Notable Births 2002 Jun 12 Koni De Winter, Belgian footballer
Notable Deaths 2002 Jun 12 Bill Blass, American fashion designer, founded Bill Blass Limited (born 1922)
Notable Deaths 2002 Jun 12 Zena Sutherland, American reviewer of children's literature (born 1915)
Notable Deaths 2000 Jun 12 Purushottam Laxman Deshpande, Indian actor, director, and producer (born 1919)
Historical Events 1999 Jun 12 Kosovo War: Operation Joint Guardian begins when a NATO-led United Nations peacekeeping force, Kosovo Force (KFor), ente
Notable Births 1999 Jun 12 CarryMinati, Indian YouTuber
Notable Deaths 1999 Jun 12 Malekeh Malekzadeh Bayani, Iranian numismatist (born 1910)
Notable Deaths 1999 Jun 12 J
Selected Events 1999 Jun 12 In the aftermath of the bombing of Yugoslavia and the Kosovo War, the NATO-led Kosovo Force entered Kosovo with a mandat
Notable Deaths 1998 Jun 12 Leo Buscaglia, American author and educator (born 1924)
Notable Deaths 1998 Jun 12 Theresa Merritt, American actress and singer (born 1922)

This article draws on content from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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