50 Years Ago Today – IOTW Report

50 Years Ago Today

A little before noon on August 1st, 1966, engineering student Charles Whitman took up position on the observation deck of the University of Texas clock tower and began shooting down on those below.  In his hour-and-a-half rampage he killed 16 and wounded 32 others before being killed himself.

Website on the shooting Here

The men who killed Whitman Here

12 Comments on 50 Years Ago Today

  1. “I wonder what sort of psych drugs they were pumping into him. ”

    He had a brain tumor. You were right that the problem was medical and between the ears, though.

  2. I haven’t been following this closely, but since starting today college students in Texas can now come to school armed . . . was this date specifically chosen in response to that shooting 50 years ago?

  3. The story behind your 2nd link is worth a read. First link is interesting in an NPR kind of way, but like all govt funded enterprises, the audio fails. I gave up after 3 retries which always take you back to the beginning.

  4. I remember this event. It made the cover of LIFE magazine.

    Anybody remember the Richard Speck murders in Chicago? We just passed the fiftieth anniversary of that too (July 14).

  5. The wife of a fellow corpsman I was stationed with was pinned down in that even. She said it was the longest day of her life and she just knew she was going to die because the person closest to her did.

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