Parkman Murder Trial begins.

The 12-day trial of Professor John White Webster for the murder of Dr. George Parkman before Judge Lemuel Shaw takes place at the Suffolk County Court House. It includes the first use of forensic evidence in the U.S. and newspaper coverage, according to one account, “From the worst of the pennies, the Boston Herald, to the most respectable of the dailies, the Advertiser, [which] vied with each other to give complete accounts.” Webster ultimately confesses and is hanged on August 30, 1850 at the Leverett Street Jail, which is located on land purchased from Parkman, and within sight of Webster’s Harvard Medical school office, which is located on land donated by Parkman.