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The murder of architect Stanford White by Harry Kendall Thaw in 1906 was a scandalous event of the Gilded Age. Thaw’s temporary insanity plea marked the first use of the MacNaughton Act in American legal history. The motive for the murder was a love triangle between Thaw, White, and showgirl/model Florence Evelyn Nesbit. White was a womanizer who raped Nesbit, and Thaw killed him out of jealousy. Thaw was found not guilty by reason of insanity and spent time in mental institutions.
The killing of architect Stanford White on June 25, 1906 in Madison Square Garden was undoubtedly the main scandal of the Gilded Age. The subsequent murder trial, dubbed the “trial of the century,” marked the first time in American legal history that the temporary insanity plea, also known as the MacNaughton Act, was used as a defense. Stanford White killer Harry Kendall Thaw was an emotionally deranged multi-millionaire whose father made his fortune working for John D. Rockefeller.
The motive for Stanford White’s murder is as old as the hills, and can be found in the seedy love triangle created by Harry Thaw, Stanford White, and Florence Evelyn Nesbit, the lovely showgirl who married Harry Thaw. Nesbit was also a model who posed for artist Charles Dana Gibson, embodying the beauty of the day, the “Gibson Girl.” Thaw was furious that Stanford White had violated her wife before meeting her, and the rivalry that grew between the two men turned into an outright rage that exploded into murder.
The married Stanford White was one of the leading architects of his day. He was also a brash womanizer with a penchant for very young girls. The son of a Shakespearean scholar and essayist, Stanford White was a tall man with red hair and a red mustache. Known for outrageous and outrageous parties, Stanford White actually raped Evelyn Nesbit of her at her secret hideout in Madison Square Garden which was the site of the infamous red velvet swing, which dangled from a gold leaf ceiling. Stanford White led a double though far from secret life, and his debauchery knew no bounds. He got away with his lascivious lewd behavior for the simple reason that he could.
Harry Kendall Thaw killed Stanford White in a fit of jealousy. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity of the crime, committed in full view of hundreds of spectators who had gathered to see a musical production. He would spend the next few years in and out of mental institutions. Years later Thaw wrote a book in which he tried to justify his shooting of him at Stanford White, but even in the eyes of his own family, he could never do it.
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