September 1900 - September 23, 1900 (Sunday)

September 23, 1900 (Sunday)

• William Marsh Rice, multimillionaire and benefactor of Rice University, was found dead at his New York City apartment. Although it appeared at the time that he had died in his sleep at the age of 84, Mr. Rice's lawyer, Albert T. Patrick, tried to cash $250,000 worth of checks the next day. Eventually, it was established that Rice's valet had administered chloroform to Rice at Patrick's direction. Patrick was convicted of the murder in 1901. As he sat on death row at New York's Sing Sing Prison, Patrick's sentence was commuted to life in 1906, and he was pardoned in 1912.
• One of Spain's greatest generals, Arsenio Martínez Campos, died at Zarauz. The New York Times eulogized, "Many have said that if the Spanish Government had retained Gen. Campos as Captain General of Cuba ... the Maine would not have been blown up and Spain would not stand to-day stripped of her ancient colonies."