The Knickerbocker Athletic Club Murders

The Manhattan Athletic Club, once located on the southeast corner of Madison Avenue and 45th street, was, in its brief period, one of the most exclusive and successful athletic clubs in the nation. In 1898, Into that aristocratic environment came a story of intrigue, a love triangle, patent medicines, and a trial of the century for murder most foul.
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This is original content based on research by The History Guy. Images in the Public Domain are carefully selected and provide illustration. As very few images of the actual event are available in the Public Domain, images of similar objects and events are used for illustration.
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All events are portrayed in historical context and for educational purposes. No images or content are primarily intended to shock and disgust. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Non censuram.
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Script by THG
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[@christinadiaz4349]

My mother is from Baltimore for many generations. The bromo seltzer tower was a landmark by the time I was born. My great grandfather had a business in the building. My grandfather was a DJ for a Jazz radio station in the tower. This story is so interesting. I wish my mom was alive. So we could watch together

[@bartmuller9797]

The bottle of Bromo Seltzer came from Frederick Stearns Drugs of Detroit , Mr Stearns' son also named Frederick testified helped with the trial, so he needs a shout out....the 17,000 square foot Stearns Mansion in Detroit has recently been restored... Stearns Drugs merged with another company in 1942... they introduced, neosporhan too , thanks as always magnificent

[@167curly]

Plenty of fishy circumstances in these cases?

[@keydraworldexplorer5389]

Thank you for this comment.

[@truthsRsung]

Dude just said that Isaac Emerson's Bromo-Seltzer was poisonous, a man he compared to Bill Gates in the Video. That Mansion was built by Selling Poison to People. Shout that out load a few times. Let it sink in.

[@sevenandthelittlestmew]

Neosporin (I think that’s what you’re referring to) was trademarked to Burroughs, Wellcome & Co. In 1953. The patent for the compound was granted two years prior to Frank Edwin Stern and Jens Thuroe Carstinsen as assignors to American Cyanamid Co. It is actually unknown who truly invented antibiotic ointment, but it was not commercially available until the early 1950s

[@random_one1321]

BromoseltzerBromoseltzerBromoseltzer

[@user-oh2hs6jh5x]

Blanche doesn't strike me as someone you would want to leave alone while you go on a business trip. Seems like she changes affections rather easily.

[@goodun2974]

Understand that the only purpose a woman from a wealthy family had back then was to *quickly* marry someone with money ---- preferably old money (not nouveau riche) and a wealthy, well-connected family ---- so as to create a business/family alliance, and perhaps a political alliance as well.

[@kevinbarry71]

Yes, but she does sound like someone I would want to live next to when her husband goes away on a business trip

[@goodun2974]

@@kevinbarry71 , " What do I need a wife for as long as the guy next door's got one?" ( an oldtime blues guy, Lightnin' Hopkins perhaps)

[@goodun2974]

@@kevinbarry71 , " I sometimes wonder if men and women are truly suited to living together; perhaps they should just live nearby and visit often". Katherine Hepburn

[@kevinbarry71]

@@goodun2974 that's right, after all I'm not greedy

[@mikenixon2401]

This reminded me of a time I received an invitation to try out the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis. I still have no idea how that happened. So, I took advantage of my free visits but noted the other men there. Lunch was fantastic and all I had to do was sign the second free meal receipt. A week later I received a nice thank you mailer that then listed the costs of membership. Uh, no I really didn't fit in with the upper crust. Going to my neighborhood gym was more fitting for me. After your good report I wonder if I got out in time.

[@kevinbarry71]

Imagine just casually taking some powder internally that you just received in the mail from sources not known.

[@goodun2974]

Nowadays, people order such potions and nostrums because of an ad they saw on TV, even though the fine print says "not intended nor evaluated for the purposes of curing any known disease". Some of these ads make you wonder, did some guy accidentally swallow a jellyfish while swimming and then wake up the next day to feel incredibly sharp-minded and clear-headed? 🤔😉

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

It was a naive time.

[@goodun2974]

@@TheHistoryGuyChannel , naivete' has not been relegated to the dustbin of history ---- modern humans can be made to believe just about anything, no matter how outlandish, if repeated often enough, as both advertisers and conspiracy theories have discovered (and capitalized on).

[@nilo70]

Thank you once again Lance for another entertaining and historical fact filled episode !

[@strayiggytv]

​@@goodun2974 MMS is a perfect example of that. What shocks me about that is missionaries have been caught giving it to malnourished children in third world countries. I honestly can't think of anything more dark than that

[@hanzzarkov7690]

I appreciate seeing the original journalism in it's original text. The committed narration too. Very nice. I'm sure it can't always be easy producing this. Thx for the good work!

[@MarkMinchak]

I’m currently working at the SE corner of 45th and Madison. Finishing the demolition of the building built there in the 1920s. Surreal to listen to the story and be here.

[@wisecoconut5]

Historical murder! So much saner than modern politics. Thanks, History Guy! ❤

[@wiretamer5710]

How do you figure that? Consider what was going on in New Mexico at the same time.

[@stuartriefe1740]

Hartford Courant! Oldest continuously produced newspaper in the nation! 🙂

[@goodun2974]

The Hartford Courant is sadly now a shadow of it's former self.

[@nelsonbrum8496]

​@@goodun2974Nearly everything is a shadow of its former self.

[@topherthe11th23]

When you look at the motives for the mur'ders, it doesn't surprise me that Molineux was later deemed insane. It's not insane to mur'der a person who ruined your life or ended that of a loved one and escaped justice. But to mur'der because of the way they run an athletic club or because you would prefer their fiancée to be yours? Surely your life isn't derailed because of such things. Those motives are insane.

[@kristinabates7787]

Sharp Threads today, Sir!!! Always my favorite History teacher!! 😘

[@lindacarlton3154]

Mine too! Brilliant teacher!

[@gprich82]

The History Guy should be made an Historic Landmark

[@Solhai]

What a present today for me. To think this happened long years after to random people who picked up Tylenol. And how well the company handled the aftermath.

[@HollyMoore-wo2mh]

I remember that. Chicago in 1982. I had to look up the year. I thought it was WA state though. The perpetrator has still NOT been found?! Dang.

[@williestyle35]

​@@HollyMoore-wo2mh nor has a real motive ever come to light. Lots of fear was settled by the "safety" seals Tylenol and others put on those over the counter medicines.

[@jocarruthers5957]

If people are interested in a longer explanation of this case, i suggest the episode Murder By Mail on the They Got Away With Murder KZbin channel.

[@stevebengel1346]

I came here to say the very same thing 👍

[@RetiredSailor60]

Good morning History Guy and everyone watching...

[@deadalready7467]

TY for another great story from yesteryear. Many Blessings 🙏🇺🇸

[@diane8885]

Thank you! I remeber my grandmother talking about Bromo seltzer.

[@xNevikKx]

My favorite era, thank you!

[@mattiemathis9549]

Hey HG, you are looking sharp today! I usually listen and so I don’t actually see you much. (That’s a compliment to your channel because you explain everything so well I don’t need the visuals.) But I was watching today and I noticed your clothes. You’re doing a YT video and dressed better than I am at a formal function. I appreciate that. 💕 I kinda miss the days when people put on a suit to go to the store. I don’t want to have to participate in it, but I enjoy seeing it. 😂

[@daffers2345]

I love his bow ties! ^.^

[@ryanmrowka8970]

I have a Tiffany's medicine caddy i even managed to buy a few antique medicine bottles. Im definitely on the look out for a bromocelter bottle because of this video

[@roberthevern6169]

Wow! Awesome 'story', Lance! Thanks!

[@robertgrace8399]

Also, it should be noted that Bromo was used as an antidote to hangovers and Rolans implied his rival for leadership nof the club was an alcoholic. Also, to dispatch the lover of Cheeseborough, he disguised the poison in a dose of Kutnow's powders, a patent medicine remedy for impotence. Rather elegant

[@msmongooseable]

They Got Away With Murder has a great video on this case.

[@victoriawilliams6156]

I cannot express how much I love this channel and the things that you present to us.

[@BlackSoap361]

A strange case. Most poisoners seem to pick and specialize in a single poison, not vary their tools.

[@orbyfan]

Maybe this is why Bromo Seltzer sponsored "Inner Sanctum Mysteries" on radio.

[@francislarv3012]

Speedy Alkaseltzer would never have stooped to such

[@BasicDrumming]

I appreciate you and thank you for making content.

[@mattgeorge90]

Thank you for sharing!!!

[@robertgrace8399]

Roland Molineux also became a freelance news reporter and submitted several stories to the tabloids in New York at the time of the Harry Thaw, Evelyn Nesbit, Sanford White murder trial

[@945hilo]

Great history lesson!

[@cdhaddock]

wow, simply fascinating!

[@lvtiguy226]

I loved this episode! As soon as you mentioned the smell of almonds, I knew it was Potassium Cyanide. As a young chemist, I analyzed many samples for cyanide. Some of those samples were from gas chambers. The chemical extract had the distinctive almond scent.

[@Mdeaccosta]

It's genetically determined whether you can smell it. Like curling your tongue, you either can or cannot.

[@fraulowrey]

Thanks for keeping history alive.

[@stephenterrilltraveller]

Good evening from the country town of Grenfell in New South Wales in Australia.

[@valeriekenny4483]

Good evening from Buffalo

[@brianbaker5671]

Really love your work ps thanks for helping me stop smoking. Instead of going outside at break time I go hide in restroom and watch the history guy 😊❤🎉

[@roberthevern6169]

I must try that myself! TY for the tip!

[@shawnr771]

Thank you for the lesson.

[@c.j.nyssen6987]

This sounds like an amazing title to kick off a new series of mystery novels.

[@BenjySparky]

THG,you rock! Peace ❤

[@rwarren58]

They spelled clue as “clew”. The vowel shifts last days.

[@dawneastcoast5543]

Blanche was smart! Ladies learn from our elders❤

[@stuartriefe1740]

Good morning from Connecticut, fellow History friends!

[@bionicman6969]

Good morning to you sir, heading to work and love history. From Virginia.

[@stuartriefe1740]

@@bionicman6969 A pleasure to make your acquaintance! I’m bionic too, hip replacements, etc!

[@RetiredSailor60]

​@@bionicman6969 was stationed in Norfolk/Virginia Beach area from 1989-2003...

[@roccodirico9737]

Good morning from Queens, New York City.

[@andrewyoung2796]

Fascinating and. Hard to believe. Turns and twists

[@nhmooytis7058]

❤ this channel!

[@JeffreyGlover65]

Molineux was guiltier than OJ 😎

[@rwarren58]

Does that mean trump is guilty too?

[@JeffreyGlover65]

@@rwarren58 guilty of what? Making libtards cry?

[@daffers2345]

No gloves involved here :B

[@JeffreyGlover65]

@@daffers2345 😏

[@teresacorrigan3076]

🇨🇦🍁wow. What a tale. Well told. Thank you

[@kellybasham3113]

Love your videos

[@stephenmorton8017]

is there anything more cowardly and premeditated than poisoning?

[@alibenkahn5092]

Especially as in this case you couldn't be sure who would end up taking the poison

[@steveshoemaker6347]

What a deal.....Thank THG🎀

[@ABeautfulMess]

As always great story

[@Peetreesaur]

Broom-seltzer is a neighborhood in Baltimore and I’m not sure of the history in that neighborhood but I’d have to bet is has something to do with the company.

[@capt.bart.roberts4975]

Whoda thunk that the Knickerbocker Club was such a maelstrom of hate and death?

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

The K.A.C. Is different than the gentleman’s club.

[@goodun2974]

@@TheHistoryGuyChannel , It was the Gilded Age, when the title of "gentleman" concealed some decidedly sociopathic personalities. Just ask the miners and other industrial-labor workers and organizers, if the company heads treated them in gentlemanly fashion...... nowadays, a worker rebellion won't be be put down at the point of a gun, the CEO'S will simply buy robots and use AI technology to replace uppity workers.

[@sandrablanchette2239]

You come up with the most interesting things

[@shed66215]

What constitutes a 'trial of the century'? Intrigue, scandal, overt suspicion of two or more suspects, love trysts - if one those of those is missing, is it still a 'trial of the century'?

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

Public interest and press coverage. These murders had a salacious element that attracted public attention.

[@goodun2974]

@@TheHistoryGuyChannel, gilded-age millionaires were the closest thing we had to royalty in America, and so ordinary people can't wait to read that they're pretty much the same as the rest of the populace: jealous, greedy, and spiteful, tribal, and looking for a way to bend societal norms and rules, and even break laws, to get what they want. "The rich are different from you and I", F. Scott Fitzgerald is purported to have said to Ernest Hemingway, who replied, "yeah, they have more money".

[@roberthevern6169]

​@TheHistoryGuyChannel ; truly one that has been repeated since antiquity!

[@dougalexander7204]

Fascinating.

[@wiretamer5710]

The bad guy painted a highway to his own culpaility: If you work with poisons... don't use your own stash. And never copy yourself.

[@user-wh8mg4gh8d]

I had never heard of this, this is new to me...interesting

[@J.A.Smith2397]

BRAVO

[@markgado8782]

I kinda wish I lived back then. Laudanum and all that good stuff. Then I think.... yeah, maybe no..

[@will2003michael2003]

Interesting!

[@donnisraines]

What seems earthshaking today is forgotten tomorrow.

[@heidiw8406]

Is the Knickerbocker Athletic Club now the Roosevelt Hotel?

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

That is the location, yes. But the club building was demolished.

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

That is the location, yes. But the club building was demolished.

[@arvettadelashmit9337]

I wonder what became of those little blue bottles? I don't think I have ever seen one.

[@daffers2345]

Most of them broke or were discarded (i.e. down the outhouse hole so they wouldn't clutter up the house). They are somewhat of a collector's item now. Antique sellers sometimes have them.

[@D9david]

Thanks!

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

Thank you!

[@Anamericanhomestead]

Like always....the only winners are the lawyers. 🙄

[@kristinabates7787]

Blanche must've been something special...not very often does the divorce lawyer Actually marry the Divorce'e

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

The timing suggested the possibility that the relationship with the lawyer predated the divorce proceedings.

[@roberthevern6169]

Oh, surely you jest.....!

[@dougrobinson8602]

Imagine that prenup!

[@KS-PNW]

If anyone is interested in a more in depth look at this case there's a channel called "They Got Away With Murder" that has an excellent episode on it. This case is covered in "Murder by Mail ". They also cover a lot of other significant cases from the 1700's- 1950's.

[@keydraworldexplorer5389]

I love they got away with it! His voice.

[@KS-PNW]

@@keydraworldexplorer5389 right? Something about the British accent, just really adds a touch of class to the whole thing. I could listen to him read the phone book lol

[@nedludd7622]

As you can do a crime mystery, maybe you would like to do one on H.H.Holmes. There is a book written about him "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson.

[@farronbalance]

I thought for sure there was a THG episode on Holmes. Surprisingly, nope. I guess there is a lot of history out there.😬

[@harryschaefer8563]

The Bromo Seltzer tower/clock is a well known landmark in downtown Baltimore Maryland visible from Orioles Stadium at Camden Yards. I always thought Bromo Seltzer was similar to Alka Seltzer, and didn't know it was dangerous. The beautiful cobalt blue glass bottles have become "collectables".

[@marcfiore4319]

I remember Bromo-Seltzer being advertised and sold as a popular remedy for a wide range of ailments, but mostly for indigestion and heartburn, when I was a child growing up in Detroit in the 1950s. Never realized it was off the market (and poisonous!) until I saw this episode!

[@ghowell13]

I now wonder if that Bromo Seltzer had anything to do with great grandfather's death. My great grandmother li ed to 96. I never knew her husband. He was a Methodist circuit minister, and died in the late 60s, just after retirement. My mother/ grandmother would, in passing while telling stories of how poor the household was, always say, he always did stop in the drug store every afternoon for a Bromo and Seltzer...

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

I am certianly not a doctor, but the issue with Bromide is that it stays in the system, so that prolonged use could lead to overdose and bromide poisoning. The deaths were most common among habitual users. So it certainly seems plausible that your Great Grandfather might have been affected.

[@goodun2974]

Lots of people died of poisonings and overdoses, both accidental and intentional, before the Food and Drug Administration was created (1906) and then expanded and funded as a regulatory agency.

[@roberthevern6169]

​@@goodun2974 and then 'declawed' later...

[@goodun2974]

@@roberthevern6169 , and now you can buy all manner of jellyfish extracts and powdered vegetable dust from TV ads. Which begs the question, did somebody swallow a jellyfish while swimming and wake up the next day to feel particularly sharp and clear-headed? 🤔😉

[@daffers2345]

They get extracts from the jellyfish brains. Err ...

[@everkief8650]

Following years of thought and now having watched this video I have finally decided to never join a gym.

[@goodun2974]

What circumstances are required to make for a murder *least* foul? 🤔

[@GaudiaCertaminisGaming]

The presence of a muffin basket.

[@timacrow]

No ducks involved.

[@juliao1255]

@@timacrow ...or geese, or chickens.... 🤣🤣🤣

[@goodun2974]

@@GaudiaCertaminisGaming , " Girl, you thought he was a man, but he was a muffin/ He hung around, til' you found, that he didn't know nothin'/ Girl, you thought he was a man but he only was a-puffin'/ No cries are heard in the night as a result of him stuffin'....". Frank Zappa

[@goodun2974]

@@juliao1255, Ostriches and Emus? Kiwis? Cassowarys? (Those last are a particularly murderous bird).

[@katiebates6134]

I have never heard of this case! Bromo seltzer was a staple in our house! It was great! I still have a large hospital size of Bromo. Been tempted to try it, but nah. 😆 I will just keep it for the memories. 😀

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

The formula has changed. But I wouldn't take any from an old bottle...

[@TheTropicaltreasure]

Watching today from the treadmill at th gym

[@jeffbangkok]

Good evening

[@halonothing1]

I excitedly thought this was a video about the history of bromoseltzer. Which actually has a pretty interesting history. It originally contained sodium bromide (hence the name). Bromide salts like sodium bromide or potassium bromide were popular "sedatives" in the days before barbiturates were discovered. The problem with bromide is it stays in the body for a long time. So if you took it on a regular basis, it would accumulate to toxic levels over time. Which led to bromide salts being phased out in favour of barbiturates once they came along and bromo seltzer removing bromide salts from their formulation. Nowadays, sodium bromide is actually still sold over the counter... as a pool chemical lol. I'm sure you have a lot on your plate and are probably researching a video as I type this. But, it would be nice to see this covered at some point. I think a lot of people would find it interesting. But that's your call.

[@user-oh2hs6jh5x]

Happy Hump Day fellow students. Please take your seats, class is about to begin. Don't forget to leave a like and subscribe to support THG.

[@JeffreyGlover65]

Present 😎

[@yoinkhaha]

Man, I swear in a hundred or two years future historians are gonna be looking back at the 19th century just as relatively awful as the 14th century was.

[@johnfun3394]

I’m not so confident in medicine as I once was, is anyone?

[@roberthevern6169]

With all the plastic seals in place since the great Tylenol issue, by the time the medicine is opened, I'm either 'over' the problem or bleeding profusely, so I succumb either way.....

[@hughwalker5628]

I worked in Pharmaceuticals but if I can use a natural product, I'll go there first always!

[@goodun2974]

@@roberthevern6169 , that's not something you can blame on the pharmaceutical industry; blame the mindset of criminals who poisoned the medicine and tried to blackmail the company. Anyway, I've never had trouble opening the Tylenol bottle,, but thousands of people end up in the ER every year from opening oversized "blister" or "clamshell" packaging designed to minimize easy shoplifting. I keep a super-sharp OLFA razor knife, and sharp scissors, around the kitchen just for opening those. The cut plastic edges of that packaging are *sharp*; perhaps I should be wearing kevlar workgloves as well!.

[@KevinWindsor1971]

Today is the 50th anniversary of the subject of one of your past videos: The 1974 Super Outbreak.

[@KevinWindsor1971]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/jYvMh5d9q82tjNEsi=mdCCu5nwuTveEdUa

[@D.Burrows]

I was like “the what bacher” 😂

[@anthonypost8214]

Hey, History Guy, how do you not get discouraged about humanity when learning history I find its doomed to repeat itself and am wondering if the more I learn the more I will think that

[@thrumylenns2207]

I would love to see a video about the black submariners

[@chrisleach3958]

Thank you. Yet another interesting presentation that would have passed me by completely without your colourful rendition..

[@maxb4074]

I need some of that Bromo-Seltzer for "brain fatigue"

[@rabbi120348]

NY Knickerbockers have been killing their faithful fans for years now.

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

Lol

[@dionnedunsmore9996]

🤯

[@johntarman3234]

I'll never look at the Heisman the same again.

[@vincentdooley3388]

I was familiar with this case because of the evidentiary rule in the first trial. The trial court's decision was (IMO) correct. Molineux's motive to kill the first victim was different than his motive to kill Cornish - one for love, the other power. The method he used was the same - poison by mail (This was going on all over the country). By comparison, in Lizzie Borden's case - there was evidence that she had attempted to purchase poison as a weapon; she allegedly used an ax. This was excluded from trial and probably would have ensured her conviction.

[@joezephyr]

Great episode thank you. Still waiting to find out why jeeps were invented :)

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

They needed a utility vehicle. Capable of going off-road. Something lighter than a 2 ton truck.

[@roberthevern6169]

I could tell you, but then .... well, a fate might befall you that you wouldn't appreciate. Just Google it.....

[@joezephyr]

@@WALTERBROADDUS Somebody should tell the history guy

[@joezephyr]

@@WALTERBROADDUS Toyota was aheed of the yanks with the Toyota FJ 1948

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

@@joezephyr how is that possible? The first Jeeps were made in World War II.

[@geekogen]

That outfit meets the theme. It's killer

[@purplecleo]

I can't remember which story or author but this case inspired some golden age of mystery authors, in fact Im pretty sure the author just wrote out the exact happenings, it seems so familiar but I can't put my finger on when I read the story

[@frankgulla2335]

what a bizarre tale and circumstance. It is true that with 8 billion on the planet, someone somewhere is going to do something whacko, every day.

[@SunnyAquamarine2]

Dang it, I wanted to know who dunnit!

[@tomservo56954]

I learned about this in THE POISONER'S HANDBOOK

[@jkilby27able]

👍👍👍

[@greggbaker7120]

How would they haul away, a large building, that was demolished, back then?

[@Redmenace96]

The murders were pretty routine. The background context of late 19th C hobbies for the super rich.

[@richmeyer2064]

You might also want to look into the story of the death of Leyland Stanford's Widow (Stanford University).