History
In 1900, wealthy financier J.P. Morgan donated the Star of India to the American Museum of Natural History on Central Park West in Manhattan. On October 29, 1964, the famous golf-ball-sized stone was stolen, along with several other gems of note, including the Midnight Star, the DeLong Star Ruby, and the Eagle Diamond. The thieves unlocked a bathroom window during museum open hours, climbed in that night, and found that the sapphire was the only gem in the collection protected by an alarm — and the battery for that was dead. They raked up the stones and fled the same way they came in. The stones were valued at more than $400,000. Within two days, the notorious cat burglar, smuggler, and one-time surfing champion, Jack Murphy (also known as "Murph the Surf"), was arrested along with two accomplices, later receiving a three-year sentence. Some months later, the uninsured Star of India was recovered in a locker in a Miami bus station. While most of the other gems were also found, the Eagle Diamond was never seen again.
Read more about this topic: Star Of India (gem)
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“It takes a great deal of history to produce a little literature.”
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—D.H. (David Herbert)