Brooke Hart

Brooke Hart (June 11, 1911 – November 9, 1933) was the oldest son of Alexander Hart, the owner of L. Hart and Son Department Store in San Jose, California. His kidnapping and murder was reported throughout the United States, and the lynching of his alleged murderers, Thomas Harold Thurmond and John M. Holmes (sometimes erroneously referred to as the last public lynching in California), sparked political debate. When Hart's body was discovered in San Francisco Bay on the morning of November 26, 1933, word spread instantly throughout northern California. All day long, radio stations announced that a lynching would take place in St. James Park across from the Santa Clara County Courthouse at 9:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 26, 1933, four...