John White Webster (May 20, 1793 – August 30, 1850) was an American professor of chemistry and geology at Harvard Medical College. In 1850, he was convicted of murder in the Parkman–Webster murder case and hanged.
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Biography
Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Webster was well-connected both by family and by profession: his grandfather was a successful merchant; his mother, Hannah (White) Webster, was a Leverett, a member of one of the great Harvard College dynasties, and a descendant of John Leverett, an early governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony; his wife's sister married into the Prescotts, descendants of William Prescott, who commanded patriot troops at the Battle of Bunker Hill, and after whom the town of Prescott was named. He was friends with Robert Gould Shaw, and his Unitarian pastor was the Reverend Francis Parkman Sr. (brother of George). These connections ensured that he moved securely within a socially-connected, exclusive, educated, and privileged circle of society.
He graduated from Harvard College in 1811. In 1814, he was among the founders of the Linnaean Society of New England, and was appointed cabinet-keeper of the society's quickly growing collection of specimens in Joy's Buildings in Boston.
Around 1815, he went to London for further study. At Guy's Hospital, he was a surgeon's pupil, a physician's pupil, and a surgeon's dresser. He then went to São Miguel Island in the Azores (1817–1818). There, he practiced medicine; published his first book; and met the daughter of Thomas Hickling, the American vice-consul on the island. Thomas Hickling was also a wealthy merchant who traded in wine and oranges. Vice Consul Hickling's family enjoyed a luxurious lifestyle. Harriet Fredrica Hickling married Webster on May 16, 1818, and they had four daughters. After returning to Boston, he entered private medical practice, but a lack of success prompted him to change careers. Webster was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, in 1823.