1921
Sep 5, Actress Virginia Rappe died in suite rooms (1219-1221) rented by film comedian Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle at the St. Francis Hotel in SF. Arbuckle was charged with her murder. In 1922 he was acquitted of a reduced charge of manslaughter, but his career was over. In 2004 Jerry Stahl authored the imaginary memoir “I, Fatty." Evidence suggested that Rappe had died due to a botched abortion.

1982
Sep 5, In San Francisco a van crashed into a taxi carrying actress Janet Gaynor (75), her husband Paul Gregory, actress Mary Martin and manager Ben Washer. Washer was killed and the others were injured. Gaynor never fully recovered and died in 1984.

1995
Sep 5, First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, addressing the UN-sponsored fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, declared it was "time to break the silence" about the abuse of women.

1997
Sep 5, In India Mother Teresa (b.1910), the Calcutta nun who worked on behalf of the destitute, died of heart failure in Calcutta. Britain's Queen Elizabeth II broke the royal reticence over Princess Diana's death, calling her "a remarkable person" in a televised address. In 1996 a US Congress joint resolution declared her an honorary US citizen. In 2003 Albania declared 2004 to be "Mother Teresa Year" and set aside Oct. 19 as a national holiday in her honor. "It is Christmas every time you let God love others through you ... yes, it is Christmas every time you smile at your brother and offer him your hand."

2003
Sep 5, Gisele MacKenzie (76), former TV star, died. She starred on "Your Hit Parade" from 1953-1957, after which she starred in NBC's "The Gisele MacKenzie Show."


2005
Sep 5, Taylor Behl (17), a Virginia Commonwealth University student, disappeared. Her body was found in Mathews County, about 70 miles east of Richmond, a month later. Behl’s body was found in a shallow grave with the help of photos on Benjamin Fawley’s Web site. In 2006 Fawley (39) was sentenced to 30 years in prison for her death.

2006
Sep 5, Burundi Vice-President Alice Nzomukunda resigned over corruption and human rights abuses that she says are hampering her nation's progress.

2006
Sep 5, In Kyrgyzstan Maj. Jill Metzger (33), a US Air Force officer, went missing while shopping in the capital of Bishkek. Metzger reappeared 3 days later and said she had been seized by three young men and a woman in a minibus and held in a rural area about 30 miles from the capital.

2008
Sep 5, Quentin Bryce was sworn in as Australia's governor general, the first woman to act as the British queen's representative Down Under. Morris Iemma (47), the embattled premier of Australia's most populous state, New South Wales, was forced to resign after his party withdrew support for him over a dramatic reshuffle of his cabinet.

2012
Sep 5, In the French Alps the bodies of 3 British vacationers and French cyclist, Sylvain Mollier (45), were found slain near the village of Chevaline. A 4-year-old girl was found alive among the bodies. Her sister (7) was beaten and shot but survived. Their BMW car was registered to Baghdad-born Saad al-Hilli (b.1962), who had lived in Britain since at least 2002. His family had been in France since August. A Swedish passport and Iraqi passport were also found at the scene. A family feud was suspected. On June 24, 2013, the brother of Saad al-Hilli was arrested after investigators gathered evidence that the siblings were fighting over their father's inheritance.



2013
Sep 5, San Francisco parks employee Thomas Burnoski (58) ran over Christine Svanemyr (35) of Daly City as she was lying in the grass in Holly Park with her baby and dog. Svanemyr was killed. On Nov 1 Burnoski received notice of termination.

2013
Sep 5, In Afghanistan Sushmita Banerjee, an Indian woman whose memoir about life under Taliban rule was turned into a Bollywood movie, was shot dead by suspected members of the Islamist militia. On Sep 9 police detained two insurgents suspected in her killing.

2014
Sep 5, Girl group singer Simone Battle (25) was found dead in her West Hollywood home. Her death was later ruled a suicide by hanging.