A Benefactor Tragedy Starring Griffith J. Griffith

By Paul McClure

Griffith J. Griffith, born in South Wales in 1850, emigrated to America in 1866, moved to San Francisco in 1873, became a mining correspondent for the Alta California newspaper, accumulated a fortune, bought much of the former Rancho Los Feliz, married well, and donated 3,015 acres of his rancho land-Griffith Park-to the City of Los Angeles in 1896. In 1903, during a moment of "alcoholic insanity," he shot his wife and subsequently spent two years in San Quentin. After his release, Griffith sobered up, worked a redemption, and donated another 1,000 acres along the Los Angeles River to the City. Upon his death in 1919, he bequeathed the bulk of his $1.5 million estate to build the Greek Theater and the Griffith Observatory.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1798116820
• ISBN13: 9781798116821
• Release Date: February 2019
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 190 Pages
• Weight: 0.63 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.0" x 9.0"