13 January

The trial of Pierce, Burgess and Tester opens at the Old Bailey, with Agar as the chief witness.

Great Gold Robbery of 1855 Convicted

In May 1855 four men emptied the bullion safes on the London-to-Folkestone night train and refilled them with lead shot. Nobody noticed until Paris.

Zola's J'Accuse...! is published in L'Aurore.

Dreyfus Affair Disputed verdict

A torn note from a wastebasket, a Jewish captain sent to Devil's Island, and the real spy acquitted in three minutes: the injustice that split France.

Marie-Thérèse Marchadier, the last name on the list, disappears at Gambais.

Henri Désiré Landru Executed

A fugitive swindler answered wartime France's lonely-hearts columns. Eleven people who went with him to rented villas outside Paris were never seen again.

Doc Barker is shot dead trying to escape from Alcatraz.

Ma Barker Killed before trial

Hoover called her the brains of a murderous gang. A robber who knew her said she couldn't plan breakfast. Kate Barker and the shootout at Lake Weir.

Petiot is released from Fresnes prison.

Marcel Petiot Executed

In occupied Paris a doctor sold a secret route to safety for 25,000 francs a head. In March 1944 smoke from his chimney showed where his clients had gone.