Trial of Professor John W. Webster for the Murder of Doctor George Parkman

Item Information

Title:
Trial of Professor John W. Webster for the Murder of Doctor George Parkman
Description:
While few early photographs exist of the Harvard Medical School building on North Grove Street, considerable information about the structure and its interior can be found, ironically, in the published transcripts of the 1850 murder trial of John W. Webster (1793-1850). Dr. George Parkman, a noted Boston physician and Harvard benefactor, disappeared on November 23, 1849, and a subsequent search of the premises of the Medical School revealed parts of a human body—including artificial teeth—in the laboratory of Dr. John W. Webster, Harvard’s Erving Professor of Chemistry. Webster was convicted of the murder of Parkman and executed on August 30, 1850. This trial transcript with drawings of the facility give some idea of the small size of Harvard Medical School at this time. The plan of Dr. Webster’s laboratory shows the locations of the tea-chest, furnace, and privy where the remains of George Parkman were discovered. Floorplan of the North Grove Street building from Trial of Professor John W. Webster for the Murder of Doctor George Parkman
Creator:
Stringer & Townsend
Date:
1850
Location:
Center for the History of Medicine (Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine)
Collection (local):
Harvard Medical Library
Harvard Medical Library Rare Books Collection (GC 92.13)
Series:
Harvard Medical Library
Subjects:
Harvard Medical School
Webster, John White, 1793-1850
Parkman, George, 1790-1849
Floor plans
Extent:
1 floor plan
Link to Item:
http://collections.countway.harvard.edu/onview/items/show/6608
Terms of Use:
The Harvard Medical Library does not hold copyright on all materials in this collection. For use information, consult Public Services at chm@hms.harvard.edu
Contact host institution for more information.
Language:
English
Notes:
Purchased for the Harvard Medical Library, 1938