Evergreen Bridge Opens: World's Longest Floating Span
Janice Wylie and Emily Hoffert were found murdered in their Upper East Side apartment on August 28, 1963, in a crime that horrified New York City. Police eventually arrested George Whitmore Jr., a young Black man, who confessed after 22 hours of interrogation. His confession was later proven false. The real killer, Richard Robles, was identified through a separate tip, and Whitmore was exonerated. The case became a landmark example of coerced confession and directly influenced the Supreme Court's Miranda v. Arizona decision in 1966, which required police to inform suspects of their rights before interrogation. Every "you have the right to remain silent" warning in American law enforcement traces back partly to what happened to George Whitmore.
August 28, 1963
63 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on August 28
The Roman general Orestes, himself of Germanic origin, marched on Ravenna on August 28, 475 AD, forcing Western Emperor Julius Nepos to flee across the Adriatic…
Theodoric the Great crossed the Julian Alps into Italy in 489 AD with an Ostrogothic army and beat Odoacer — the man who had deposed the last Western Roman Empe…
Fatimah's death in 632 AD ignited an immediate rift over succession that split Islam into Sunni and Shia branches. Her passing triggered decades of debate regar…
The combined Silla and Tang Dynasty fleet crushed the forces of Baekje and their Japanese (Yamato) allies at the naval Battle of Baekgang, destroying over 400 Y…
Guy of Lusignan launched the Siege of Acre, pinning his forces against the formidable walls of the Ayyubid stronghold. This grueling two-year investment forced …
The Black Death reached Mainz in 1349, and the Jewish community was accused of causing it by poisoning wells. This was the standard accusation across Europe tha…
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