Stanford White - Murder

Murder

White’s presence at Madison Square Garden on the night of June 25, 1906 had been an impromptu decision. White had originally planned to be in Philadelphia on business; he postponed the trip when his son, Lawrence, made an unexpected visit to New York. That evening’s theatrical presentation on the Garden’s roof top was the premiere performance of Mam'zelle Champagne. During the show’s finale, "I Could Love A Million Girls", Harry Kendall Thaw approached White, produced a pistol, and standing some two feet from his target, fired three shots at Stanford White killing him instantly. Part of White’s face was torn away and the rest of his features were unrecognizable, blackened by gunpowder. Thaw, a Pittsburgh millionaire, and a man with a history of severe mental instability, was the jealous husband of Evelyn Nesbit, whom White had seduced at age sixteen. White at the time had been forty-seven years old, and in the years following had remained a potent presence in Nesbit's life. It is conjectured that Stanford White himself was unaware of Thaw’s long-standing vendetta against him. White considered Thaw a poseur of little consequence, categorized him as a clown—and most tellingly, called him the “Pennsylvania pug” —a reference to Thaw’s baby-faced features. The reality was that Thaw both admired and resented White’s social stature. More significantly, he recognized that he and White shared a passion for similar life styles. However, unlike Thaw, who had to operate in the shadows, White could carry on without censure, and seemingly, with impunity.

The initial reaction of the crowd was one of good cheer, as elaborate party tricks amongst the upper echelon of New York Society were common at the time. However, when it became apparent that White was dead, hysteria ensued.

The nineteen-year old Lawrence Grant White was guilt ridden after his father was slain, blaming himself for his death. “If only he had gone !” Years later, he would write bitterly, "On the night of June 25th, 1906, while attending a performance at Madison Square Garden, Stanford White was shot from behind a crazed profligate whose great wealth was used to besmirch his victim's memory during the series of notorious trials that ensued." White was buried in St. James, New York.