The Conspiratory

The archive, day by day

On this day in conspiracies

The dated turning points behind the case files: assassinations, crashes, leaks, votes, and the moments a theory was born, each drawn straight from a file's sourced timeline. We only place an entry on a day the record actually names.

  1. 1903
    The Van Meter VisitorCryptids & Monsters

    More townspeople report encounters. O.V. White is said to have seen the creature perched near a telephone pole; others describe a powerful foul odor and a light so bright it hurt to look at. Attempts to shoot the creature continue to fail.

  2. 1968
    Tlatelolco massacreGovernment & Intelligence

    Around ten thousand people gather for a rally in the Plaza de las Tres Culturas at Tlatelolco. Troops, armored vehicles, and plainclothes agents surround the square. In the early evening gunfire breaks out and soldiers open fire on the crowd; the shooting and mass arrests continue into the night.

  3. 1985
    Rajneeshee salmonella attackSecret Societies & Power

    State and federal investigators searching the commune find a medical laboratory containing a culture of Salmonella Typhimurium. The Centers for Disease Control matches the strain to the bacteria that had sickened people in The Dalles, transforming a contested suspicion into forensic evidence of a deliberate act.

  4. 1987
    Uwe Barschel deathUnsolved Crimes & Disappearances

    Under mounting pressure as the allegations harden, Barschel resigns as minister-president. He announces he will fight to clear his name.

  5. 2007
    Diana's deathGovernment & Intelligence

    The coroner's inquest, headed by Lord Justice Scott Baker, opens substantive hearings at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, hearing months of evidence including from a former head of MI6.

  6. 2008
    Donaghy NBA betting scandalHoaxes & Pop Culture

    An independent review the NBA commissioned from attorney Lawrence Pedowitz reports that it found no evidence any referee other than Donaghy bet on games or leaked information, and no evidence the league directed referees to favor teams or players.

  7. 2013
    Michael Jackson's deathUnsolved Crimes & Disappearances

    The civil jury in the family's suit finds that AEG Live hired Murray but that the company was not liable, concluding Murray was not shown to be unfit or incompetent in a way that made AEG responsible. Because the jury found no liability, it never reached the question of damages.

  8. 2018
    Jamal Khashoggi killingGovernment & Intelligence

    A 15-member Saudi team, including intelligence and forensic personnel, arrives in Istanbul on private jets from Riyadh. Khashoggi enters the consulate at about 1:14 pm, leaving his phones with Cengiz, who waits outside. He does not come out. Turkish authorities later conclude he was killed and dismembered inside.

  9. 2024
    Maui wildfiresScience, Space & Technology

    The Maui Fire Department and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives release their joint origin-and-cause determination: the Lahaina fire was a single fire that began in the morning from sparks off re-energized broken power lines and re-ignited in the afternoon. It is classified accidental, not incendiary.

Drawn from 1,911 dated events across our case-file timelines. Dates reckoned in UTC.