Full Description
Jane Stanford, the co-founder of Stanford University, died in Honolulu in 1905, shortly after surviving strychnine poisoning in San Francisco. The inquest testimony of the physicians who attended her death in Hawaii led to a coroner's jury verdict of murder—by strychnine poisoning. Stanford University President David Starr Jordan promptly issued a press release claiming that Mrs. Stanford had died of heart disease, a claim that he supported by challenging the skills and judgment of the Honolulu physicians and toxicologist. Jordan's diagnosis was largely accepted and promulgated in many subsequent historical accounts.
In this book, the author reviews the medical reports in detail to refute Dr. Jordan's claim and to show that Mrs. Stanford indeed died of strychnine poisoning. His research reveals that the professionals who were denounced by Dr. Jordan enjoyed honorable and distinguished careers. He concludes that Dr. Jordan went to great lengths, over a period of nearly two decades, to cover up the real circumstances of Mrs. Stanford's death.
Contents
Contents Preface ix Introduction: The Founding of Leland Stanford Junior University 1 Part I 1 The Death of Mrs. Stanford 9 Picnic at the Pali, 9--Moana Hotel, February 28, 1905, 11--Securing the Evidence, 15--The Autopsy, 16 2 The Poland Water Poisoning 20 Nob Hill, January 14, 1905, 20--The Harry Morse De- tective and Patrol Agency, 22 3 The Police Investigation 26 Shocking News Reaches San Francisco 26--Sheriff Henry's Confusing Cablegram 27--Witnesses Interrogated, 28--Experts Voice Opinions, 30--Mrs. Stanford's Spiritualism, 31--Julian Hawthorne's Theory, 24 4 The Honolulu Inquest 34 Eyewitness Testimony, 34--The Toxicologists' Testi- mony, 38--The Question of Suicide, 43--The Jury's Verdict, 45 5 The Stanford Party in Honolulu 46 Captain Callundan Investigates, 46--Dr. Waterhouse Con- tacted, 47--Dr. Waterhouse's Opinion, 49--Dr. Water- house's Limitations, 52--Dr. Jordan's Conclusion 54--The Attending Physicians' Response 56 Part II 6 The Stanford Party Returns Home 61 Dr. Jordan and Captain Callundan Meet the Press 61--Dr. Jordan's Strychnine Theory 64--Dr. Humphris's Pique, 65-- Dr. Shorey's Position 66--Dr. Waterhouse Confronted 67 7 Bolstering Dr. Jordan's Diagnosis 70 No Poison Found, 70--The Ophuls Report, 71--Dr. Waterhouse Exposed, 73--Dr. Jordan's Conspiracy Theory, 75 8 The Cases of Shorey and Humphris 79 Jared Smith's Charges, 79--Dr. Shorey Accused of Fraud, 80--Dr. Jordan's Charges, 82--Dr. Humphris in Honolulu, 83--Dr. Humphris in London, 85 9 The Other Physicians 88 Dr. Harry Murray, 88--Dr. Francis Day and Dr. John Pratt, 89--Dr. Clifford Wood, 90--Dr. Ernest Water- house, 91 Part III 10 Perpetuating the Myth 97 11 Summing Up 102 Case Closed 102--Dr. Jordan's Cover-Up 103-- Appendix 1. Dr. Shorey and the Experiment Station 111 Appendix 2. The "Ross Affair" 114 Appendix 3. Professor Julius Goebel 122 Notes 129 Select Bibliography 149 Index 157 14 pages of photographs follow page 60 Library of Congress Subject Headings for this publication: Stanford, Jane Lathrop, 1828-1905, Murder Hawaii Honolulu History Case studies, Poisoning Hawaii Honolulu History Case studies
