Events tagged with "sing sing prison"

Historical Events tagged with "sing sing prison"

Turns out history loves a label—battles, breakthroughs, and the occasional disaster, all neatly tagged for your browsing pleasure. Because sometimes you just need every weird invention in one place.

Crime & Law

William Van Schaick's Presidential Pardon

December 19th, 1912 112 years ago

William Van Schaick, the captain of the General Slocum, received a presidential pardon from U.S. President William Howard Taft after serving three and a half years in Sing Sing prison. The General Slocum was a steamship that caught fire in 1904, resulting in the deaths of over one thousand people. Van Schaick was convicted of criminal negligence following the disaster, which became one of the deadliest maritime disasters in U.S. history. His pardon, predicated on various factors, drew significant public interest and media coverage.