H. H. Holmes

Also known as Dr. Henry Howard Holmes, Henry Howard Holmes, Herman Mudgett, Henry Holmes, H.H. Holmes, H H Holmes

American con artist and serial killer (1861–1896)

Key facts

Born: Herman Webster Mudgett , ( 1861-05-16 ) May 16, 1861, Gilmanton , New Hampshire, U.S.
Status: Executed by hanging
Died: May 7, 1896 (1896-05-07) (aged 34), Moyamensing Prison , Pennsylvania, U.S.
Resting place: Holy Cross Cemetery (Yeadon, Pennsylvania)
Other names: See aliases & nicknames H. H. Holmes Alexander Bond America's First Serial Killer The Beast of Chicago The Devil in the White City The Torture Doctor The Arch Fiend Judson Robert E Phelps
Alma mater: University of Vermont (1879–1880) University of Michigan (1882–1884)
Spouses: Clara Lovering ( married"}]]}'>m. July 4, 1878"}]]}'>1878 ) Myrta Belknap ( married"}]]}'>m. 1886 ) Minnie Williams ( married"}]]}'>m. 1893 ) Georgiana Yoke ( married"}]]}'>m. January 17, 1894"}]]}'>1894 )
Conviction: First degree murder
Criminal penalty: Death
Victims: 9 (confirmed)
Span of crimes: 1891 – 1894 (confirmed) , 1886 – 1894 (suspected)
Locations: Illinois Indiana Ontario Pennsylvania
Date apprehended: November 17, 1894

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Wikidata facts

Instance of: human
Family name: Holmes
Gender: male
Citizenship: United States
Place of birth: Gilmanton
Place of death: Philadelphia
Occupation: hotel manager
Educated at: Phillips Exeter Academy
Languages spoken: English language
Native language: English language
Field of work: serial murder
Image: H. H. Holmes.jpg
Convicted of: murder
Significant event: exhumation

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pseudonym: H. H. Holmes
cause of death: hanging to death
date of birth: 1861-05-16
date of death: 1896-05-07
penalty: capital punishment
Commons category: H. H. Holmes
manner of death: capital punishment
name in native language: Herman Webster Mudgett
birth name: Herman Webster Mudgett

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Encyclopedic overview

Herman Webster Mudgett (May 16, 1861 – May 7, 1896), better known as Dr. Henry Howard Holmes or H. H. Holmes, was an American con artist and serial killer active between 1891 and 1894. By the time of his execution in 1896, Holmes had engaged in a lengthy criminal career that included insurance fraud, forgery, swindling, three or four bigamous marriages, horse theft, and murder. Known as the Beast of Chicago, the Devil in the White City, or the Torture Doctor, his most notorious crimes took place in Chicago around the time of the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893.

Holmes was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of Benjamin Pitezel, his accomplice in several of his cons. However, Holmes confessed to 27 murders, including those of some people who were verifiably still alive. It is believed that he also killed three of Pitezel's children, as well as three mistresses, the child of one mistress and the sister of another. Holmes was hanged on May 7, 1896.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “H. H. Holmes” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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