|
On November 23, 1849, the unthinkable occurred at the Boston Medical College. Dr. John White Webster, a Chemistry professor at Harvard College, murdered Dr. George Parkman over money. If that wasn't bad enough. He then dissected the body and hid the parts throughout the laboratory. On December 1, 1849, the police arrested Dr. Webster for murder. His trial in March 1850 riveted the community and made national news as the latest "crime of the century". After two weeks, a jury convicted him of first degree murder. On August 30, 1850, he was hanged at the Leverett Street Jail amidst the jeers of a sensation loving public.
Ms. Karen Chaney, crime historian, will examine this sensational event and its impact on Nineteenth Century Boston. The lecture is open to the general public, academics, anyone interested in Boston history, the press and the Nineteenth Century.
|
