parkman
murder
Professor John White Webster
There was a great deal of public protest when John Webster was convicted and hanged for the murder of Dr. Parkman. Webster was a professor of chemistry and a friend and colleague of Parkman's at Harvard Medical College. with his two daughters coming of age in Boston's debutante circles, coupled with the routine expenses of his class, Webster felt the strain and embarrassment of his debts to Parkman and other close friends. Although most of the evidence in the trial was circumstantial, the jury believed that the social pressures had unleashed Webster's "quick and irritable temper" on Parkman.
