January 21, 1957: "Mad Bomber" George Metesky Is Arrested

January 21, 1957: The reign of terror launched by New York's "Mad Bomber" comes to an end.

George Peter Metesky was born on November 2, 1903 in Waterbury, New Haven County, Connecticut. In 1931, working for Consolidated Edison, or "Con Ed," New York City's electric company, his lungs were damaged in an accident, leaving him too sick to work. He filed his claim for workers' compensation too late, and was denied. He swore revenge.

On November 16, 1940, he planted a bomb at the Con Ed power plant at 170 West 64th Street in Manhattan. A note was attached, reading, "CON EDISON CROOKS - THIS IS FOR YOU," signed "F.P." The bomb was found and defused, with no injuries. He planted another bomb in 1941, but sent the police a note saying he would not plant any more bombs for the duration of World War II.

He kept this promise, but started again in 1951, eventually planting 33 bombs, with 22 of them exploding, injuring 15 people but, miraculously, killing none. He planted bombs at Grand Central Terminal, Pennsylvania Station, Port Authority Bus Terminal, Radio City Music Hall, the RCA Building at Rockefeller Center, the main New York Public Library at 42nd Street & 5th Avenue, and the Empire State Building -- all in Manhattan. A favorite target was movie theaters: He would cut open a seat cushion and put a bomb inside.

His mistake was in sending letters to a newspaper, the New York Journal-American. As with "Unabomber" Thedore Kaczynski 40 years later, but not with "Son of Sam" David Berkowitz 20 years later, analysis of handwriting and word usage led to his being tracked down. He was arrested on January 21, 1957. When asked what "F.P." meant, he said, "Fair Play."

He was found mentally incompetent to stand trial, and was committed to psychiatric hospitals until 1973, when he was released. He had forsworn the use of further violence, but maintained his grudge against Con Ed until the end. Despite the damage to his lungs, he lived until May 23, 1994, at age 90.

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January 21, 1957 was a Monday. President Dwight D. Eisenhower had his 2nd Inauguration on this day, because the start of his 2nd term, the day before, fell on a Sunday. Baseball and football were out of season. And no games were scheduled for either the NBA or the NHL. So there were no scores on this historic day.