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Murder of Stanford White and the First "Trial of the Century": Topics in Chronicling America

The 1906, murder of Stanford White prompted a sensational murder trial. This guide provides access to materials related to the "Stanford White murder" in the Chronicling America digital collection of historical newspapers.

Introduction

Harry Thaw kills Stanford White in jealous rage over actress wife June 26, 1906. The Washington Times (Washington, DC), Image 1. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers.

On June 25, 1906, millionaire Harry Thaw murdered famed architect Stanford White in a jealous rage over Thaw's actress wife, Evelyn Nesbit. The ensuing high-society trials (the first ended in a dead-locked jury) gripped the nation's headlines for more than a year. Read more about it!

The information in this guide focuses on primary source materials found in the digitized historic newspapers from the digital collection Chronicling America.

The timeline below highlights important dates related to this topic and a section of this guide provides some suggested search strategies for further research in the collection.

Timeline

June 26, 1906 Harry Thaw shoots Stanford White.
January 23, 1907 The first trial of Harry Thaw begins.
February 7, 1907 Evelyn Nesbit Thaw's first day of testimony.
April 12, 1907 The jury in the Thaw trial is deadlocked.
January 9, 1908 The second trial of Harry Thaw begins.
February 1, 1908 Thaw found not guilty by reason of insanity; committed to mental institution.