Webster, John White (20 May 1793–30 August 1850), university professor and murderer, was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Redford Webster, an apothecary, and Hannah White. Soon after Webster’s birth, his family moved to Amesbury, Massachusetts, where his father achieved great financial success in his business. Webster enrolled at Harvard College, where he was more mischievous than studious; still, he earned a bachelor’s degree there in 1811 and a medical degree in 1815. That same year he continued his training at Guy’s Hospital Medical School in London, where John Keats, also a student there, became his friend and fellow “dresser” for a hospital surgeon. Completing his course of instruction, Webster went on a scientific tour through England. On his way back to Boston during 1817 and 1818, he vacationed in the Azores, where he fell in love with Harriet Fredrica Hickling, the daughter of the American consul stationed at Fayal. They got married in May 1818, established their residence in Boston, and became the parents of four daughters....
