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Harry Kendall Thaw | |
|---|---|
 Thaw, c. 1905 | |
| Born | February 12, 1871 Allegheny, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | February 22, 1947 (aged 76) Miami, Florida, U.S. |
| Resting place | Allegheny Cemetery |
| Education | University of Pittsburgh Harvard University |
| Known for | The killing of Stanford White |
| Spouse | |
| Children | Russell William Thaw |
| Parent(s) | William Thaw Mary Sibbet Copley |
| Relatives | Alice Cornelia Thaw (sister) Benjamin Thaw Sr. (brother) |
Harry Kendall Thaw (February 12, 1871 – February 22, 1947)[1][2] was the son of American coal and railroad baron William Thaw Sr. Heir to a multimillion-dollar fortune, he is most notable for murdering the renowned architect Stanford White in front of hundreds of witnesses at the rooftop theatre of New York City's Madison Square Garden on June 25, 1906.
Thaw had harbored an obsessive hatred of White, believing he had blocked Thaw's access to the social elite of New York. White had also had a previous relationship with Thaw's wife, the model and chorus girl Evelyn Nesbit, when she was aged 16 or 17. This affair allegedly began with White plying Nesbit with alcohol (and possibly drugs) and then allegedly raping her while she was unconscious. In Thaw's mind, this relationship had "ruined" her.
Thaw's trial for murder was heavily publicized and called the "trial of the century". After one hung jury, a second jury found him not guilty by reason of insanity.
Plagued by mental illness throughout his life (evident even in childhood), Thaw spent lavishly to fund his obsessive partying, drug addiction, abusive behavior, and sexual gratification. The Thaw family's wealth allowed them to buy the silence of anyone who threatened to reveal their licentious transgressions. However, he had serious confrontations with the criminal justice system, one of which resulted in seven years' confinement in a mental institution.