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Births on February 16

James Colosimo
1878Feb, 16

James Colosimo

James Colosimo, Italian-American mob boss (d. 1920)
Vincenzo Colosimo (Italian: [vinˈtʃɛntso koˈlɔːzimo]; February 16, 1878 – May 11, 1920), known as James "Big Jim" Colosimo or as "Diamond Jim", was an Italian-American Mafia crime boss who emigrated from Calabria, Italy, in 1895 and built a criminal empire in Chicago based on prostitution, gambling and racketeering. He gained power through petty crime and by heading a chain of brothels. From about 1902 until his death in 1920, he led a gang that became known after his death as the Chicago Outfit. Johnny Torrio was an enforcer who Colosimo imported in 1909 from New York and who seized control after his death. Al Capone, a Torrio henchman, allegedly was directly involved in the murder.

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Events on 1878

  • 18Feb

    Lincoln County War

    John Tunstall is murdered by outlaw Jesse Evans, sparking the Lincoln County War in Lincoln County, New Mexico.
  • 3Mar

    Treaty of San Stefano

    The Russo-Turkish War ends with Bulgaria regaining its independence from the Ottoman Empire according to the Treaty of San Stefano; a few months afterwards the Congress of Berlin stripped its status to a vassal principality of the Ottoman Empire.
  • 25May

    Comic opera

    Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera H.M.S. Pinafore opens at the Opera Comique in London.
  • 15Jun

    Sallie Gardner at a Gallop

    Eadweard Muybridge takes a series of photographs to prove that all four feet of a horse leave the ground when it runs; the study becomes the basis of motion pictures.
  • 22Oct

    Salford, Greater Manchester

    The first rugby match under floodlights takes place in Salford, between Broughton and Swinton.