1973
Events that took place in Fairfax County in 1973:
Contents
January
- January 2 – The Board of Directors of the Fairfax County Park Authority votes 7-2 to remove Director James D. Bell, demoting him to the position of director of special projects.[1]
- January 5 – Fairfax Circuit Court Judge Percy Thornton orders 18-year-old Mark W. Tucker begin serving his five-year sentence for manslaughter for fatally shooting his mother Mary at the family home in Fairfax on July 9, 1970.[2]
- January 29 – 6-year-old Courtney C. Cross drowns in Lake Braddock when he falls off the boat dock after throwing a rock at a duck.[3]
February
- February 3 – In a 4 to 1 vote, the Fairfax County Planning Commission approves a plan for a landfill on an 800-acre site in Lorton.[4]
- February 16 – 35-year-old James E. Jackson is shot and killed by 35-year-old Charles M. Landsdown, Jr. to settle an argument at 2846 Annandale Road in the James Lee Apartments in Falls Church.[5][6]
- February 28 – The Springfield Mall officially opens in Springfield.[7]
- February 28 – 36-year-old Harry McMillan fatally shoots his estranged wife, 21-year-old Delores S. McMillan, 53-year-old mother-in-law Ruth M. Sherman, and 2-year-old son William, before committing suicide in his rented cabin at 8811 Lee Highway in Fairfax. William is taken to Fairfax Hospital, where he dies.[8]
March
- March 2 – The 26-story Skyline Plaza building under construction in the Baileys Crossroads area of Falls Church collapses, killing 14 construction workers and injuring 35 more.[9]
- March 17 – 41-year-old sales manager Samuel A. Shaulis is shot to death at the offices of General Computer Systems at 7115 Leesburg Pike in Falls Church.[10]
April
- April 1 – A tornado, later estimated to be an F3 on the Fujita Scale, touches down at three locations in Fairfax County and the City of Fairfax, heavily damaging Woodson High School, the Pickett Shopping Center, as well as homes in the Middleridge and Country Club View neighborhoods and the Pine Springs apartment complex. 32 people are injured.[11][12]
- April 29 – 19-year-old Nicholas E. Trbovich is fatally injured in an early morning car crash when he fails to make the turn from westbound West Ox Road at Lawyers Road in Herndon and crashes into a tree. Trbovich is taken to Fairfax Hospital, where he dies.[13]
May
- May 18 – 16-year-old Edward D. Byrne, Jr. is fatally injured when he loses control of his 1966 Volkswagen and crashes into a tree on Lakeview Drive near Jay Miller Drive in Falls Church. Byrne is taken to the Fairfax Hospital, where he dies about an hour and a half later.[14][15]
- May 29 – Acting County Executive Robert W. Wilson is appointed to the position by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.[16]
June
- June 13 – The West Spring Twin Cinema movie theater opens in Springfield.
- June 29 – 24-year-old Larry R. Johnson is found guilty of strangling 18-year-old Patrick J. Seibert to death in their shared cell at the Fairfax County Jail on November 16, 1972.[17]
September
- September 7 – While clearing brush on Clifton Creek Drive in Clifton, 32-year-old bulldozer operator Jackie L. Blankenbaker is killed when his bulldozer rolls over and he is crushed beneath the machine.[18]
- September 16 – 40-year-old Paul H. Rawley is found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his home at 11304 Seneca Circle in Herndon.[19]
October
- October 28 – Mary E. Conlon hangs herself in the basement of her home at 6304 Beryl Road in Alexandria.[20][21]
- October 29 – 14-year-old student Natalia Semler is tortured and murdered on the grounds of the Madeira School in McLean. Her corpse is found tied to a tree early the next day by her father.[22]
November
- November 1 – 23-year-old John S. Gilreath is arraigned for the October 29 murder of 14-year-old Natalia Semler.[23]
December
- December 12 – 16-year-old David W. Beatty is fatally burned when 16-year-old Michael Marshall crashes the 1969 MG sedan he is driving into a parked 1971 Gremlin on Westmoreland Street in McLean. The Gremlin's gas tank catches fire, engulfing both cars in flames. A second passenger, 17-year-old Steven Warner, is dazed but uninjured except for his singed hair, and runs back to class at McLean High School, before realizing he should return to the scene of the accident. Beatty, burned over 90% of his body, dies on December 30.[24][25]
- December 31 – 22-year-old Bessie V. Campbell and her eight-day-old daughter Christina C. Mullins die in a fire in their home at 8312 Central Avenue in the Agnew Farms neighborhood of Alexandria. Seven to ten other people in the house manage to escape the morning blaze.[26][27]
Crime
There were 18 murders or other homicides in Fairfax County in 1973.
References
- ↑ Whitaker, Joseph D. "Fairfax Unit Reprimands Park Chief." The Washington Post, Times Herald (1959-1973): 2. Jan 03 1973. ProQuest. Web. 14 June 2014.
- ↑ "Youth Begins Term in '70 Slaying" Evening Star, 6 Jan. 1973, HOME DELIVERY, p. 7. NewsBank. Accessed 15 Sep. 2017.
- ↑ "Burke Boy Drowned in Fairfax Lake." The Washington Post, Times Herald (1959-1973): 1. Jan 30 1973. ProQuest. Web. 30 Aug. 2014.
- ↑ Mathews, Jay. "Fairfax Approves Site for Landfill Near Lorton." The Washington Post, Times Herald (1959-1973): 1. Feb 04 1973. ProQuest. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.
- ↑ Mathews, Jay. "Fairfax Man Shot to Death." The Washington Post, Times Herald (1959-1973): 2. Feb 18 1973. ProQuest. Web. 26 Feb. 2018.
- ↑ "One Charged in Death Of Falls Church Man. Evening Star, 18 Feb. 1973, Four Star, p. 46. NewsBank, . Accessed 26 Feb. 2018.
- ↑ "Springfield Mall Ranks as Area's Largest." The Washington Post, Times Herald (1959-1973): 1. Feb 25 1973. ProQuest. Web. 18 Aug. 2014.
- ↑ Nunes, Donnel and Nancy Scannell. "Stormy Life Climaxed in Four Deaths." The Washington Post, Times Herald (1959-1973): 2. Mar 02 1973. ProQuest. Web. 28 July 2016 .
- ↑ "5 Dead, 12 Missing in Collapse of High-Rise." The Washington Post, Times Herald (1959-1973): 2. Mar 03 1973. ProQuest. Web. 24 Aug. 2017.
- ↑ "Computer Firm Aide is Killed in Va. Office." The Washington Post, Times Herald (1959-1973): B4. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Washington Post (1877-1995). Mar 18 1973. Web. 16 Mar. 2012.
- ↑ "Tornadoes Rip Fairfax Apartments, Shops; 32 Hurt." The Washington Post, Times Herald (1959-1973): 2. Apr 02 1973. ProQuest. Web. 15 Sep. 2017.
- ↑ Oppenheimer, Jerry, and Mitchell Satchell. "Fairfax Asks Aid After Twister". Evening Star, 2 Apr. 1973, First CAPITAL, p. 5. NewsBank. Accessed 15 Sep. 2017.
- ↑ "Car Crash Kills Crewman" Evening Star, 30 Apr. 1973, CAPITAL SPECIAL, p. 28. NewsBank. Accessed 15 Sep. 2017.
- ↑ "Student, 16, Killed After Car Hits Tree" Evening Star, 19 May 1973, HOME FINAL, p. 16. NewsBank. Accessed 15 Sep. 2017.
- ↑ "Fairfax Car Wreck Victim, 16." The Washington Post, Times Herald (1959-1973): 1. May 20 1973. ProQuest. Web. 15 Sep. 2017.
- ↑ Whitaker, Joseph D. "Fairfax Executive Appointed." The Washington Post, Times Herald (1959-1973): 2. May 30 1973. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Washington Post (1877-1995). Web. 26 Oct. 2012.
- ↑ White, Keith. "Man Guilty in Slaying Cellmate." The Washington Post, Times Herald (1959-1973): 1. Jun 30 1973. ProQuest. Web. 1 Jan. 2014.
- ↑ "Bulldozer Overturns; Man Killed." The Washington Post, Times Herald (1959-1973): B6. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Washington Post (1877-1994). Sep 08 1973. Web. 8 Jan. 2012.
- ↑ "Paul Rawley, Artist in Va." The Washington Post, Times Herald (1959-1973): 1. Sep 20 1973. ProQuest. Web. 28 Aug. 2016.
- ↑ "Obituary 1 -- no Title." The Washington Post, Times Herald (1959-1973): C2. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Washington Post (1877-1994). Oct 29 1973. Web. 28 Oct. 2011.
- ↑ UPI. "Ghost Suspected as Cause of Fire That Killed 2 People." Google Archive. Montreal Gazette, 8 July 1982. Web. 28 Oct. 2011.
- ↑ Nunes, Donnell, and Laura A. Kiernan. "Girl, 14, Slain at Madeira School in Va." The Washington Post, Times Herald (1959-1973): A1. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Washington Post (1877-1994). Oct 31 1973. Web. 28 Oct. 2011
- ↑ Elsen, William A. "D.C. Man Arraigned in Slaying Va. Girl." The Washington Post, Times Herald (1959-1973): C1. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Washington Post (1877-1994). Nov 02 1973. Web. 28 Oct. 2011.
- ↑ Nicol, Judy. "Cars Burn in Fairfax; 3 Injured." The Washington Post, Times Herald (1959-1973): 1. Dec 13 1973. ProQuest. Web. 7 Jan. 2018.
- ↑ "Dazed Victim Causes Mystery After Crash" Evening Star, 13 Dec. 1973, NIGHT FINAL, p. 38. NewsBank. Accessed 7 Jan. 2018.
- ↑ "Fire Kills Mother, Infant Daughter" Evening Star, 31 Dec. 1973, NIGHT FINAL, p. 9. NewsBank. Accessed 12 Sep. 2018.
- ↑ "Woman, Infant Girl Killed in Fairfax Fire." The Washington Post (1974-Current file), Jan 1 1974, p. B4. ProQuest. Web. 12 Sep. 2018.
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