Send us a text

In this episode of The Wild Wild Death, we explore the strange and tragic story of James King of William, a crusading newspaper editor who was shot in broad daylight. When a group of esteemed doctors race to save his life, their medical choice led to his doom. Tune in to hear how a sponge became the most lethal weapon in San Francisco.

Interested in the history behind this episode of The Wild Wild Death? Check out the links below: 

• https://history.library.ucsf.edu/sponge_case.html
• history.library.ucsf.edu/toland.html
• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/12715059/james-king
• https://www.jstor.org/stable/42656511
• https://hdl.huntington.org/digital/collection/p9539coll1/id/23425/
• https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2019/07/02/dice-roll-civilization-dawns-in-san-francisco/
• https://web.archive.org/web/20131231005303/http://www.norcalmediamuseum.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=73&Itemid=139
• https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/23990-subclavian-artery
• https://sfmuseum.org/hist6/hang.html

KEYWORDS:

James King of William shooting

Newspaper editor killed in San Francisco

19th-century true crime

Medical malpractice tragedy

San Francisco historical crime

Lethal sponge mishap

Wild West murder mystery

James King of William assassination

Medical choice leads to death

Crime and medical error

Strange historical murder

True crime in San Francisco