Reason First: An Educated Brute: The John White Webster Story

The teeth have it. And a pelvis and leg, too. John White Webster, professor and lecturer lost his cool with Dr. George Parkman on Tuesday November 23, 1849. With a grapevine trunk, Webster dispatched the Dr. and chopped up his remains. He would then try to burn the corpse completely, failing in the process.

This case, which the newspapers in Harvard, Massachusetts sensationalized, brought the Webster-Parkman names to the forefront of thousands of minds. Additionally without the then radical study of the teeth and other remains at a crime scene, investigators may not have forged the initial instances of one of the first forensics investigations.

This landmark scenario would bring infamy to Webster’s name. He would soon be charged with murder and sent to the gallows after a full confession just a few months after the crime.

The irrationality is high with this one. Webster negated all means of persuasion and rational discussion shut down when Webster picked up the murder weapon. Rather than talking with the doctor about the money issue where Webster owed Parkman $483, he lost his temper. He tried to pass off a story to Parkman’s family that the doctor had been accosted and kidnapped.

If it were not for a janitor named Ephraim Littlefield and his wife, who did his own civilian investigating, he found that the oven in Webster’s laboratory had been quite hot. He made a grim discovery of the pelvis and leg portion. Webster, ironically, failed to account for the proper amount of heat that would have turned these items into cremains. Considering all of his levels of education in chemistry, one would expect that he would’ve turned the temperature up just a bit more. For the sake of justice, his sloppiness led to his conviction.

For an educated man and a professor of chemistry and mineralogy at Harvard Medical College to reduce himself to a beast who would commit such a heinous crime speaks to all levels of education.

There can be elementary school dropouts turned rapists or entrepreneurs. College professors can go onto illustrious careers in academia. Webster wanted none of the latter. He had positioned himself to be a purveyor of knowledge and ended up being hanged for his transgressions against Parkman.

Upon his arrest, Webster attempted to kill himself. His failed attempt to swallow strychnine capsules led him to still say that he knew nothing of Parkman’s remains.

The lack of ethics, morals, and values evidenced by Webster show a man that had been hell-bent on turning himself into a monster. As intelligent as he was, he lacked (thankfully) the cunning and commitment to properly rid himself of evidence. His grisly murder of Dr. Parkman highlights his disdain for goodness in humanity. With the idea that he could murder Parkman and get away with it, Webster believed (wrongly) that he was the master of the universe. He didn’t bring Parkman into the world but he certainly took him out of it. This case shows the irrationalism that can spring up once thought falters and collapses. Webster’s misdeeds demonstrate the evils lurking in the human psyche. While man is not automatically vicious, his character can devolve into such low rungs of impropriety.

Webster was an educated brute. All of his accolades could not save him from his fate. He disregarded Parkman’s life because he was selfless and self-destructive. Had he been selfish, he would have valued his own life, Parkman’s and everyone worthy of his esteem. As gentlemanly as he may have appeared, underneath the veneer of his degrees and scholarly approach, he was no gentleman. Instead, he was a scared little coward who could not deal with reality.

In modern times with advancements in forensics, bone fragments and teeth often see themselves on the sheets of the authorities. Because of the work of 19th century investigators, the John White Webster wannabes will have tougher times with committing crimes.