On this day, June 25, in 1906, Pittsburgh millionaire Harry Kendall Thaw shot and killed prominent architect Stanford White on the roof of Madison Square Garden.
Thaw, the ne’er-do-well son of a Pennsylvania coal and railroad baron, had competed with White for the affection of a New York chorus girl named Evelyn Nesbit. Nesbit married Thaw.
On that fateful night, the Thaws and White happened to attend the same premiere of “Mam’zelle Champagne.”
During the show, Thaw approached and shot White three times in the face. Thaw held the gun aloft and walked out. The crowd thought it was part of the show.
A jury found Thaw not guilty by reason of insanity. He eventually moved to Frederick County, Va. He died in 1947.
