Who was Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen?

Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen was an American physician hanged for the London murder of his wife Cora Henrietta Turner (aka the actress Belle Elmore). Crippen is said to be Britain's second most infamous criminal after Jack the Ripper and the first suspect captured with the aid of wireless telegraphy when he and his mistress, who was disguised as a boy, fled by ship across the Atlantic from England to Canada. The ship's Captain recognized the fugitives and wired the British authorities before they were out of range. The British authorities then sent a messenger on a faster ship to notify Canadian authorities who apprehended the pair. Unknown to the pair of fugitives, the trans-Atlantic chase was followed by millions of people via the newspapers. Crippen is the main subject of author Erik Larson's book Thunderstruck.

Famous Kin

Dr. Crippen was a descendant of Mayflower passenger Edward Fuller. A few infamous kin in his family tree include American Revolution traitor Benedict Arnold, Mayflower madame Sydney Biddle Barrows, and President Reagan's would-be assassin John Hinckley, Jr. He also had a few U. S. Presidents in his family tree including Ulysses S. Grant, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and both Presidents Bush.

Celebrity kin of Dr. Crippen include actress Kyra Sedgwick, radio and TV host Dick Clark, actress Shirley Temple, singer and songwriter Harry Chapin, actor Clint Eastwood, and a number of others. Other notable kin include Mormon Church founder Joseph Smith, poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, cotton gin inventor Eli Whitney, poet Oliver Wendell Holmes, aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart, and astronaut Alan Shepard.